More than a decade ago, PGA TOUR Champions member Gene Sauers was given just a 25 percent chance of survival due to having Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a rare skin disorder that was burning him from the inside out.
Treatment that included several skin grafts, forced him to miss seven years of professional golf, but when he came back, he won the 2016 U.S. Senior Open.
His inspiring comeback to the sport is why this week, the PGA TOUR presented him with the 2017 PGA TOUR Courage Award at Phoenix Country Club, the site of the season-ending event, the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
The Courage Award is given to the player who, “through courage and perseverance, has overcome extraordinary adversity, such as personal tragedy or debilitating injury or illness, to make a significant and meaningful contribution to the game of golf.”
“Gene’s determination in defeating Stevens-Johnson syndrome and resuming a successful PGA TOUR Champions career serves as inspiration for anyone suffering through a life-threatening condition,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “It required tremendous fortitude for him to overcome nearly insurmountable odds, and we are thrilled to present him with the 2017 PGA TOUR Courage Award.”
PEBBLE BEACH, CA – SEPTEMBER 17: Gene Sauers lines up a putt on the 11th hole during Round Two of the Nature Valley First Tee Open at Poppy Hills Golf Course on September 17, 2016 in Pebble Beach, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Sauers joins Erik Compton and Jarrod Lyle as the third-ever recipient of the award.
“It’s truly an honor to receive the Courage Award, and it is my hope it sheds positive light on the tremendous work being done by doctors and researchers around the country to find a cure for this debilitating disease,” Sauers said. “Through perseverance and determination, I was able to overcome Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and return to competition, and I cannot thank my family, friends and fellow PGA TOUR players enough for their tireless support along the way.”
By winning the award, Sauers will also receive $25,000 to be donated to the charity of his choice. He’s chosen to give the money to Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, a non-profit international center for treatment and research, and a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School which aims to improve testing, and offer treatment options and prevention strategies for people with Stevens-Johnson syndrome.
Sauers, 55, a native of Savannah Georgia, turned professional in 1984, but in 2005, he was forced to miss competition when a misdiagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis turned out to be Stevens-Johnson syndrome.
The ordeal started when Sauers woke up one day with pain in his left shoulder. The pain started to ping-pong to other joints in his body. Doctors initially thought he had Rheumatoid Arthritis. Something didn’t sit right with Tammy though, especially when they began treating Gene with Methotrexate, a chemotherapy drug used to treat cancer. She raised so many questions doctors locked her out of consultations. (Golf Week)
The joint pain turned into a feeling of being “burned alive,” and through a long painful treatment process and bedridden days, Sauers played golf in his mind, with a full intention of making his way back to the PGA TOUR.
First, however, he bought a motorcycle as soon as he got out of the hospital. A concerned wife, coupled with the fact that he had just received skin grafts, resulted in the bike phase lasting only a month. Then, his attention turned to golf again.
In 2011, he returned to the professional level, playing on the Web.com Tour before turning 50 and moving to the PGA TOUR Champions, where he has finished inside the top 25 in the Charles Schwab Cup in three of his first four seasons, and earned $4.7 million thanks to 28 top-10 finishes.
Congratulations, Gene Sauers. Way to fight in all areas of life.
