 gathers with fellow tournament participants and First Coast favorites at last year’s charity event. .jpg)
 gathers with fellow tournament participants and First Coast favorites at last year’s charity event. .jpg)
Former professional golfer Jeff Klauk is determined to not let the adversity he has faced in life slow him down. Instead, the longtime Ponte Vedra resident is motivated to use his challenges to help others.
Klauk, who played on both the Web.com Tour and PGA Tour, has lived with Epilepsy since 2006. The neurological disorder characterized by unpredictable seizures changed his life, disrupted his successful golf career and has resulted him having brain surgery, with the most recent operation taking place in December 2017.
“They went in on the right side of the brain,” said Klauk about the craniotomy. “That’s where they think the seizures are coming from.”
Now four months after the surgery, the former golfer is yet to have experienced a seizure and is channeling his experiences toward a cause that is close to his heart: the second annual Athletes vs. Epilepsy 1 Million Dollar Shootout.
Coming up this Monday, April 9 at The Palencia Club, Klauk’s charity golf tournament raises funds and awareness for the Epilepsy Foundation’s mission to overcome the challenges of living with the neuro-disorder, and to accelerate therapies to stop seizures, find cures and save lives. Last year, the event raised almost $75,000 and included about 120 participants.
According to Klauk, the tournament will feature nine par-3 holes and nine regulation holes. Each par-3 will feature a $10,000 hole-in-one contest, and the golfers closest to the pin on the par-3 holes will qualify for the $1 million shootout at Palencia’s 18th hole. Other activities include pre-event putting contests for tickets to the Masters and a lunch and awards reception. The event will commence at 1 p.m. with a shotgun start.
Registration for the charity event is still open online at Athletesvsepilepsygolf.com. (More information can be found there as well.) An individual golfer can register for $400, and a five-person team can do so for $1,900. Sponsorship opportunities are also still available, and donations are encouraged by those who cannot attend.
“I’m looking forward to this year’s event,” said Klauk, who now works for Perfect Golf Event in Ponte Vedra Beach. “I want to try to have a great event and raise as much money as we can and help others out.”
