Golf Tournament for Parkinson Disease

The first annual Neuro Challenge Foundation Charity Golf Tournament will be held at Sarasota’s Heritage Oaks Golf and Country Club on October 24, 2009. All proceeds from the golf scramble will benefit the Neuro Challenge Foundation, a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of people struggling with Parkinson Disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. The Foundation's Parkinson Care Center is a unique and nationally recognized program and is located in the Institute for Advanced Medicine, just off Clark Road in Sarasota.

Check-in for the tournament is at 11:00 am, followed by a putting contest and driving practice. The tournament begins at 1:00 pm and will end with a cocktail hour, dinner, raffle and the announcement of prizes. Registration for the tournament is $120 per player , and may be reserved by calling Mark Besgeier at (941) 400-7867 or emailing golf@neurochallenge.org. Registration forms are also available at several private golf clubs, as well as at local golf stores and fitness clubs including Edwin Watts, Pro Golf Discount, Golf USA and the Sarasota Memorial HealthPlex Fitness Center, or by calling Neuro Challenge at 888-623-4463.

“Sarasota is a golfer’s paradise, and this tournament will bring awareness to our community, and to the need for funding and research to improve the lives of Parkinson’s patients,” says Doreen Sutherland, Neuro Challenge Foundation Chairman. "All of the proceeds from this event will benefit the 15,000 Parkinson patients and caregivers living in the Sarasota area by helping to keep the doors of our Neuro Challenge Parkinson Care Center open during challenging economic times."

The golf course at Heritage Oaks is a private 18-hole championship course. Originally built in 1997, the course was redesigned in the summer of 2006 by internationally known architect Ron Garl. The signature hole is number 18, a 385-yard par 4 nestled between the clubhouse and aquatic driving range. For dress code and more information about the golf course, please visit www.heritageoaksgolfcc.com.

Tax-deductible sponsorship opportunities are still available. “Bring your friends and enjoy an excellent day of play,” says Besgeier. “And create some hope along the way.”

About The Neuro Challenge Foundation: The Neuro Challenge Foundation is advised by Sarasota physicians Dean P. Sutherland, M.D., Ph.D., Bernard Feinberg, M..D. and Donald Negroski, M.D., and is dedicated to the fight against Parkinson Disease, MS and related neurodegenerative diseases. The Foundation, operated entirely through volunteer time and charitable donations, maintains a full-service, state-of-the-art Parkinson Disease Center in Sarasota, Florida. At the Center, patients and families receive advice on surgical and non-surgical treatments, counseling, health and fitness, home services and more. The Center offers a level of care that rivals major university medical centers. Patients seen at the Parkinson Disease Center have access to the latest information, medications, surgeries, diagnostic tests, rehabilitation services and alternative therapies. As a result, the reputation of the Center has grown by leaps and bounds, extending to the entire state of Florida and beyond.