What is the Heather Farr Perseverance Award on the LPGA Tour? Who is Jane Park, the 2023 Recipient of the Award?

It’s the season-ender time on the LPGA Tour with the CME Group Tour Championship going on in Naples, Florida. It’s also the time for LPGA Tour Pros to walk on the green carpet, as the award gala is on the first day of the event. Among the awards, that celebrate on-the-course and off-the-greens exploits of golfers, the Heather Farr Perseverance Award holds a special place because of its association with a former LPGA Pro.

The award honors the grit of Heather Farr, who after battling with cancer for four years in the 90s, became the living embodiment of courage and grit. Sportsmanship extends beyond the greens and this is what the award celebrates and why Jane Park was the recipient of this year’s award. But what made Heather Farr so famous that she has reached a mythical status now?

Heather Farr redefined courage and confidence

Farr, at that time, was one of the rising stars of the LPGA Tour. She won a record-breaking 10 Arizona Women’s Amateur Title, the first coming her way when she was just 13. A fiery presence on the greens, she was also the epitome of grace and elegance outside the course.  

Farr was in the middle of her fourth season when breast cancer put her fast ride to a grinding halt. The ‘never-give-up’ attitude that she embodied in the course was a steady companion throughout her four-year-long battle with cancer as well. 

In fact, when Henry DeLozier, a golf course operator, put out a Pro-am fundraiser for her, Farr was on the greens, practicing chip shots straight out after chemo. Nancy Lopez, a close friend of Farr, shared how Farr believed and also convinced Lopez that she was going to beat the cancer. The Hall of Famer named her daughter Tori Heather Knight, in honor of her long-time friend.

After her death in July 1993, LPGA Tour decided to honor and celebrate her iron-heartedness through the Heather Farr Perseverance Award. This time Jane Park, who has been fighting for her young daughter for the past two years, was selected for the award. 

Jane Park is the living embodiment of sheer perseverance and willpower

LPGA Tour announced that Jane Park will receive the honor this year for her courage and determination that brought her back to the greens after two years of hiatus. Back in July 2021, the veteran golfer was teeing off at the Ascendants LPGA Benefiting Volunteers of America when her daughter suddenly experienced a series of epileptic seizures. Following this, Grace Park was admitted to the ICU battling with brain swelling from a virus. 

Since then, the 2004 US Women’s Amateur Open Champion has become a full-time caregiver for the toddler. She made a comeback this year in July at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational. However, she hasn’t returned to the greens full-time for the season.

Read More: LPGA Partner Shed Tears As Jane Park, Who Battled Years With Her Daughter’s Intractable Epilepsy, Hints Toward Taking an Unfortunate Turn in Her Career

Since her daughter’s tragic health issue, she has turned to advocacy for disability and epilepsy awareness along with her caddie husband Peter Godfrey, who currently is the bagman of Hye Jin Choi. LPGA Tour decided to recognize and honor her dedication to the game and her daughter.

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