Pepsi Tour Veteran Katie Fraley Nominated by Peers
for Duramed Futures Tour's Wilbur Award

Pepsi Tour veteran and Duramed Futures Tour member Katie Fraley of Brandenburg has been named the 2009 recipient of the Tour's Heather Wilbur Spirit Award.

Nominated by her peers, the award is presented each year to a member of the Tour who best exemplifies the dedication, courage, perseverance, love of the game and spirit toward achieving goals as a professional golfer. The award was established in memory of the late Heather Wilbur, a four-year member of the Tour from New Brunswick, Canada, who lost an 11-month battle to Acute Myelogenic Leukemia (AML) in 2003.

"At first when I learned that I was going to get this award, I was sort of embarrassed, but then it was comforting to think that the other players on this tour cared and thought about nominating me for it," said Fraley. "They’re more than just golfers. They’re friends."

Fraley joined the Tour in 2006 after a successful amateur career in Kentucky, but her life began with 30 surgeries after being born with spina bifida, and chronic kidney ailments resulting from underdeveloped kidneys. At one month of age, she underwent a 12-hour brain surgery to stop spinal fluid from leaking out of her body. Later surgeries rerouted her organs in an effort to make her kidneys more functional. At age 10, Fraley appeared active and healthy, but was diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma in her right knee. The cancer consumed nearly 70 percent of her kneecap and Fraley was placed on three months of intense chemotherapy and had four surgeries to treat the disease. Six years later, she won the 2003 Kentucky Junior Amateur Championship, the 2003 Kentucky Women’s Amateur Championship and was named the 2003 KGA-PGA, Inc. Junior Player of the Year.

Kentucky 's family of golf organizations congratulates Katie for this outstanding honor.