The Jeff Julian Celebration of Golf Pro-Am will honor the only player from Vermont to qualify for the PGA Tour and raise money to help defray Jeff’s medical expenses while fighting amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Lou Gehrig’s disease.

“There are all kinds of ways to measure success. In golf, some might measure success in yards or scores or the money list, yet Jeff has achieved much, much more,” said Scott Peters, longtime friend of Jeff Julian, former Quechee Club assistant pro and first Vermonter to play on the PGA Tour. “Yes, we are proud that he was the first local guy on the PGA Tour, but he has achieved a much greater success, shown by the outpouring of support from the people of this community.”
“When I learned about Jeff’s diagnosis with Lou Gehrig’s disease, I wanted to help my friend.”
Scott is organizing The Jeff Julian Celebration of Golf Pro-Am on June 24, 2002, at The Quechee Club. The intent is to recognize all that Jeff has done for golf and for the community, plus generate funds for his expenses and for medical research.
Jeff Julian is well-known in Quechee and the surrounding area as “our pro.” He grew up in the Upper Valley with family roots in Norwich, Vermont. He followed his dream through the ups and downs of golf, always believing that he could make it on the PGA Tour. While working on his game, he served as The Quechee Club’s assistant pro from 1991 to 1995. He worked hard and never gave up. In the fall of 1995, he made it through Q-school to become the first Vermonter on the PGA Tour in 1996.
“He’s our local hero. We pay more attention to golf and to the Tour when Jeff plays,” said Scott. “He’s our professional athlete, and a real class act. He’s touched many, many lives, and always gives back to the local community.” One example of how Jeff has given back to the community is the Annual Quechee Club Jeff Julian Golf Classic, created in 1995 to support Special Olympics Vermont and provide funding for the development of a Special Olympics golf program in Vermont.
“Since announcing the event, the phone has been ringing off the hook. The support is overwhelmingly positive. In just a week, the field is full,” said Scott. “This a celebration of golf and of Jeff. It is an opportunity for the community to pull together and say thank you. Jeff has inspired this community, and given so much to so many. This is a time to celebrate his courage and ease his burden.”
Many have watched Jeff’s courage over the years, cheering him on through Q-school, on the PGA Tour and the BUY.COM Tour, and celebrating with him when he won his first title, the 1997 Dominion Open, by one stroke over Bobby Wadkins.
In the summer of 2001, the future looked especially bright for Jeff. He was back on tour and had married Kimberly, also known as “the woman of his dreams.” He met his wife/caddie Kimberly at the BUY.COM Tour’s Ozarks Open in 2000. He moved to her hometown of Branson, Missouri, to enjoy family time with his son and stepson. Then, in the fall of 2001, while finishing his second year on the PGA Tour, Jeff was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Scott Peters (left) with Jeff Julian celebrating Jeff receiving his Tour card to become the first Vermonter on the PGA Tour in 1996. Scott is organizing The Jeff Julian Celebration of Golf Pro-Am at The Quechee Club to recognize what Jeff has done for golf in the community, and help defray Jeff’s medical expenses while fighting Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Jeff knew something wasn’t right. At first he had neck problems and some trouble drinking, then his speech started slurring. An MRI ruled out a brain tumor, and a Dartmouth-Hitchcock neurologist made the first, frightening diagnosis of spinal-bulbar muscular atrophy (closely related to ALS) but wanted a second opinion. Between tournaments, Jeff heard the difficult news from a doctor at Johns Hopkins University Medical Center in Baltimore on October 8. He had ALS.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a motor neuron disease, first identified in 1869 by Jean-Martin Charcot. Lou Gehrig first brought national and international attention to the disease in 1939 when he abruptly retired from baseball when diagnosed with the disease. According to the National Institutes of Health, as many as 20,000 Americans have ALS, and an estimated 5,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with the disease each year. ALS strikes people between 40 and 60 with men affected more often than women. The disease occurs apparently at random with no clearly associated risk factors.
Though the cause is not understood and there is no known cure, research has helped to understand the physiology of this disease. ALS is a progressive neurological disease that attacks nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. The disease progressively destroys the motor neurons that reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. When the motor neurons are destroyed, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. While there is no cure or treatment to halt or reverse ALS, there is a drug approved by the FDA that may slow the progression of the disease. Additional information about the disease and how you can help support medical research is available on the ALS Association website: www.alsa.org.
No known reason why the disease picked Jeff, no cure, yet he presses on. He and Kimberly try to maintain a positive outlook, living each day to the fullest.
“I am trying to stay active in golf, not only for myself, but also to help bring awareness to this disease and speed the quest for the cure,” said Jeff in an email. He has sent letters to Tour events in hopes of receiving exemptions. At publication, he had received his first exemption and will play the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on January 28 to February 3 with Scott helping to caddie.
Jeff has started to create national attention for ALS and his desire to continue to play golf. Major newspapers and several golf publications have picked up on the story. He hopes this attention will grow and exemptions will come.
He also writes a column available on the PGA Tour site at www. pgatour.com/stories/julian_index.html. His January 8, 2002 entry included: “On good days, we are busy living life the way I have always dreamed, and on bad days we realize how hard it is to plan for the future…Golf is a very positive motivator for me, now more than ever…My plans for the year are to stay active in tournament golf, out of a personal desire and in hopes of bringing attention and awareness to a cause that is little known but so devastating to those who face it.”
“I have been overwhelmed by the support and good wishes I’ve received,” said Jeff in an email. “Many thanks to all my friends at The Quechee Club. It is going to be difficult to return there under these circumstances, but I do look forward to seeing everyone.”
Scott recognizes the importance of Quechee to Jeff, and Jeff to Quechee. “It’s a natural thing for the event to be there,” said Scott. “The Quechee Club stepped up to the plate to make this possible, and they deserve a very big thank you.”
The Quechee Club has donated its two 18-hole championship courses for the day to support the cause to honor Jeff and raise funds to help defray his medical expenses. Jeff also wants to donate funds for continued medical research.
“Jeff has history here. The decision took all of two seconds to say ‘Yes, we’ll help.’ We’re saddened by the circumstances but happy we can help,” said Neal Griswold, General Manager of The Quechee Club. “We have always been thrilled to see our hometown boy on the Tour. He represented us and brought recognition for The Club and for the Upper Valley. It’s time to come together and celebrate Jeff, a person who has touched so many lives, so positively.”

Jeff Julian, former Quechee Club assistant pro and first Vermonter to play on the PGA Tour, is trying to stay active in tournament golf after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Lou Gehrig’s disease. His goal is to help bring awareness to the disease and speed the quest for the cure.

While “selling out” the field so quickly may cause some people to question why the event didn’t charge more than the $1200 per foursome, Scott is quick to return to the basic premise. “We didn’t want this to become a ‘corporate’ event. We wanted community members and Jeff’s friends to be involved. You can always give more, whether you play or not.”
Planning is still underway for the weekend’s events with a dinner/dance and silent auction on Sunday, June 23. Details will follow in the May issue of The Quechee Times. To make the silent auction a true fundraiser, organizers need items including golf equipment and accessories; golf travel experiences; golf collectibles including autographed items; and other items of unique value to help raise money. For information or to donate, contact Scott Peters at Golf & Ski Warehouse, 603-298-8282.
Forty-four PGA Tour players have been invited to the June 24 event, held the Monday after the Canon Greater Hartford Open. A number of pros have already committed including Olin Browne, a member of the PGA policy board. The PGA has also pledged to help get players to the event.
“This has struck a chord. People want to help,” said Scott. “Yes, Jeff has a battle ahead of him. He has a disease without a cure and that is a tragedy. Yet Jeff has a great, positive attitude. We don’t want this to be a sad occasion. We want it to be a celebration of golf and of Jeff.”