Family, friends and fairways: honouring the memory of Dr. Azhar Syed

August 8, 2025 - The family of the late Dr. Azhar Syed is organizing special event to honour a man who dedicated his life to helping others. 

Dr. Syed was an Internal Medicine Specialist who practised in Lindsay and cared for patients in Ross Memorial’s Intensive Care Unit between 1988 and 2020. He passed away in April of 2020. Due to the pressures of the pandemic, it was impossible to gather family, friends and colleagues for a large memorial service. 

Focusing on the people and places that made him the happiest, his family chose to celebrate his life with a memorial golf tournament at his favourite course and with his favourite people gathered together. 

The tournament is set to take place on Sunday, September 14 at Oliver’s Nest Golf Course in Oakwood. Dr. Syed was a founding member at Oliver’s Nest, where he taught his children to play golf. 

“He used to take us to Oliver’s Nest all the time growing up and was a die-hard Tiger Woods fan,” said Dr. Syed’s son, Imran. “He really emphasized the role of starting early in creating great golfers, and had me swinging a club at 4 years old.” 

Imran and his family members look forward to seeing old friends in the community and golfing with Dr. Syed’s old friends once again. 

Funds raised through the Dr. A. A. Syed Memorial Golf Tournament will support the future expansion and modernization of Ross Memorial’s ICU through the WE ARE THE ROSS capital campaign. 

“We are touched to be helping Dr. Syed’s family to coordinate this fundraising golf tournament,” said Erin Coons, RMH Foundation CEO. “It’s nice to know that their efforts to gather friends, family and colleagues together will also benefit patients in the ICU, which was Dr. Syed’s life’s work.” 

For more information about the tournament, visit https://DrAASyedTournament.eventbrite.com