By Jack Malley, Cronkite PR Lab
It’s been 30 years since Arizona State University golf legend Heather Farr lost a courageous four-year battle against breast cancer. She was only 28 years old at the time of her passing and was in the midst of a surging professional career on tour with the LPGA before her diagnosis in 1989 changed the course of her life. But, despite the passing of three decades, Heather’s legacy remains strong among Sun Devils everywhere.
Born and raised in the Phoenix area, Heather fell in love with the game of golf when her father, Jerry, would take her and her younger sister, Missy, to Papago Golf Course, a course that is still frequented by ASU students today.
Even though she had scholarship offers from schools all over the country, Heather chose to stay close to home and enrolled at ASU, where her exceptional skills caught the attention of other professionals in the golf world. In 1990, she was inducted into the ASU Sun Devils’ Hall of Fame, an achievement only bestowed upon ASU’s most deserving athletes.
“The last thing Heather would’ve wanted to be remembered for was being a cancer survivor, which was never important to her,” says Missy Farr-Kaye, Heather’s younger sister and legendary head coach of Sun Devil Women’s Golf for the past nine seasons. “She wanted to be remembered as one hell of an athlete and a fierce competitor. Every coach wants somebody like Heather on their team. Not just an All-American, but a leader, and someone who’s going to push their teammates to get better.”
To posthumously recognize Heather’s accomplishments and tremendous character, ASU created the Heather Farr Award and has been awarding it to a female Sun Devil every year. The award’s purpose is to recognize the female student-athlete at ASU who best combines academics, athletics, sportsmanship, and a commitment to the local community all while maintaining a minimum 3.0 GPA - all areas of life where Heather Farr excelled.
Former ASU women’s lacrosse player Kerri Clayton was one such recipient.
“I was shocked when I found out that I won, truly a humbling moment,” says Clayton, whose hard work on and off the field earned her the Heather Farr Award back in 2018. “If you’re nominated for an award as special as this one, you’re doing everything right. Your efforts are finally being recognized and you’ve been a great representative of what ASU stands for. Even if you don’t win, just being nominated is a huge accomplishment.”
There are 13 women nominated for this year's award, with a member of almost every female athletic program earning the opportunity to receive the prestigious award. The three finalists are Yanni Acuna from softball, Audrey Ernst from triathlon and Alexia Delgado from soccer.
“I’m just so proud to have the opportunity to be a shepherd of Heather’s legacy and continue to educate new female athletes at ASU about everything that she stood for,” says Farr-Kaye, a two-time cancer survivor herself.
During the 2008-09 season, Farr-Kaye battled a recurrence of breast cancer, the same disease that Heather was diagnosed with. Not only did she make a second full recovery, but Farr-Kaye also led the women’s golf team to the NCAA Championships and helped bring home ASU’s seventh NCAA title.
“Cancer’s gift to me, after going through it myself and having watched my sister and my dad both lose their battles, is my ability to handle adversity,” Farr-Kaye said. “I learned that one of the reasons why I’m here is to show others that even on hard days you can pick yourself up and move forward and continue on to great things. Heather taught me so much about how to look at life and how to be resilient. She fought her battle with such grace and dignity, and my goal will always be to honor her.”
This year’s Heather Farr Award will be announced at Wings of Gold on March 29, an annual fundraiser for the 14 women’s athletic programs at Arizona State University. The money raised through Wings of Gold is evenly distributed between the 14 programs and is used for recruiting, academics, and other essential needs necessary to compete at the Division I collegiate level. To attend this year’s event, please register here, or click here to donate and share your support for this deserving cause and celebration of Heather’s legacy.