MILLIONS will see Helen & Douglas’s distinctive twin-coloured heart logo this month when golfer Eddie Pepperell steps on to the course.

The 27-year-old from Sutton Courtenay has pledged to wear a cap bearing the hospice’s logo during this month’s PGA championship at Wentworth and the Italian Open - both of which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.

A tweet announcing the pledge received thousands of likes over the weekend and a Just Giving page has already raised almost £7,000 for the charity.

The East Oxford hospice yesterday thanked the golfer and his supporters for the ‘incredible’ response online.

It is a welcome boost for the cash-strapped hospice, which revealed earlier this year it would have to close part of its operation due to a lack of funds.

Mr Pepperell, who won his maiden European Tour event earlier this year, said: “I did that with a blank cap and when no corporate sponsors were initially forthcoming this time I decided to use the space to raise awareness for a charity instead. I wanted something local and Helen & Douglas made perfect sense.”

The talented player said the front of the cap was ‘prime real estate’ when it came to golfing, explaining: “It’s the first thing people see on TV, either when you are playing or giving interviews.”

He visited the East Oxford hospice last week and said he was ‘amazed’ by the work being done.

Alison Stone, who met with him, said: “We are delighted that Eddie is supporting Helen & Douglas raising money for us and putting our logo on his caps - he has two which he will wear one white and one black.”

She added: “It is incredible that since visiting last Friday he has already raised £6,952, which will pay one of our outreach nurses to make 233 visits to one of our families at home to offer help and support for a local terminally ill child.We would like to say a huge thank you to all Eddie’s supporters who have donated through his Just Giving page and to Eddie for raising money for us and agreeing to put our logo on his caps to increase awareness of our charity.”

Mr Pepperell said he was determined to raise as much as awareness as possible during the tournament, which kicks off on May 22, but that he wasn’t sure whether the fact he was wearing a cap with the charity’s logo would affect how he played.

He said: “I’ve always been a self-driven person so I think I’ll have a similar reaction to shots as before but I may surprise myself and feel that sense of duty.”

Donate by searching Eddie Pepperell at justgiving.com.