Faith Over Fear: Veriato Defies Parkinson’s Disease to Make Senior Women’s Am Debut

You see the words “Faith over Fear” on bumper stickers and T-shirts. The catchy phrase is easy to wear, but Karen Veriato doesn’t wear it, she lives it. The 63-year-old Texan put “faith over fear” into motion, one brave, trembling step at a time.

Learning to play the hand life deals is a lesson the New Braunfels resident knows well. Diagnosed in 2015 with Parkinson’s disease, a progressive neurological disorder that affects movement, she faced the journey head-on. The following year, Veriato underwent Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgery to help manage her tremors, which are involuntary rhythmic shaking movements commonly associated with the condition. 

Ten years later, Veriato has qualified for the 63rd U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, to be contested Sept. 13–18 at The Omni Homestead Resort, in Hot Springs, Va. Refusing to let the disease define her, Veriato set her sights on the championship – not just to compete among the best 50-and-older competitors, but to inspire. Her journey to this moment remains a powerful testament to what a little faith can do.

But Veriato’s story doesn’t begin with the diagnosis. It started much earlier on a San Antonio military base. While growing up in a military family teaches you loyalty, flexibility and how to make friends quickly, for Veriato, it came with a bonus lesson: how to swing a golf club.

Her father, Arthur “Art”, was a retired Air Force Colonel and fighter pilot who served for more than 30 years in the military, including two tours in Vietnam.

Military transfers took the family across the country more than a dozen times. Along for every move were her two older brothers, Steve (now 68) and Brian Schroder (now 67), and mom, Barbara, making for a hectic life for their family of five. 

“We lived at a base in San Antonio, and it had a nice golf course,” said Veriato. “They allowed children of any military parent to play on the course.”

It was on the base where her passion for golf was born and nurtured. But it wasn’t until the family relocated to Columbus, Miss., that she decided to chase golf competitively. With no women’s golf team at the time, Veriato joined the boys’ golf team at Robert E. Lee High School, not just to play, but to win. She didn’t just keep up with the boys; she outplayed most of them as a freshman.

“I would be competing with either the first- or second-ranked player from other teams during tournaments,” said a proud Veriato.

The golf course wasn’t the only athletic arena where Veriato thrived. Standing at 6 feet tall, she also excelled in basketball for all four years of high school. After transferring school's midway through her sophomore year due to another military reassignment, she finished that season playing golf on the girls’ team at San Marcos (Texas) High School, but then decided to focus exclusively on basketball her junior and senior year. 

Veriato’s skills on the court ultimately earned her a scholarship to Texas State University, formally known as Southwest Texas State University, in San Marcos.

After graduating in 1983, Veriato seriously considered trying to play on the LPGA Tour, but ultimately shelved that dream to pursue some of life’s other joys such as getting married and starting a family. She did just that by giving birth to her only daughter Kelsey Thompson, now 36, and tying the knot with PGA professional Steven Veriato on New Year’s Eve 1993. Steven, 16 years older than Karen, turned pro in 1973 after playing collegiately at Texas A&M.

While working as an accountant at the Legislative Budget Board of Texas, she would spend weekends caddieing for Steven as he competed in PGA Tour Champions Q-School. After he earned his PGA Tour Champions card, she became Steven’s full-time caddie from 1996 to 2004. The duo secured one victory at the 2001 Novell Utah Showdown.

"Caddieing for him were some of the best years of my life,” said Karen. 

In addition to the Champions Tour, Steve competed on the PGA Tour (1976 to 1980), Asia Golf Circuit and Canadian Tour. He also owns three Southern Texas PGA Championship titles (1987, 1988, 1994). 

Now the roles will be reversed. Daughter Kelsey, a Texas A&M graduate devoted to providing orthotic and prosthetic care to children, will be on the bag for her mom at the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, while Steven watches from the gallery. A part of him wants to step in; after all, he has decades of experience on the greens. But at 79 years old, he knows this is a proper mother-daughter moment.

USGA championships are familiar territory for the Veriato clan. Karen qualified for the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur in 1991, 2006 and 2011, missing the match-play cut each time. Steven, meanwhile, teed it up in two U.S. Opens (1979 and 1988), as well as nine U.S. Senior Opens between 1996 and 2009. Karen caddied for him in every one of those senior appearances, with his best finish coming in his debut, where he tied for 27th at Congressional Country Club, in Bethesda, Md.

Before her diagnosis, Veriato was highly active, not just on the golf course, but in a range of physical pursuits. In addition to playing a lot of golf, she took part in events such as the MS150, a challenging two-day, 150-mile bike ride from Waller to Austin, Texas, to raise funds for Multiple Sclerosis research.

About a month after the MS150, life began to change for Veriato.

“I noticed my quadricep would contract on its own, and I would have to think about it for it to release, and it would do it again," she recalls.

Other symptoms followed, including wrist twitches at church and extreme hand tremors while driving, prompting her to seek answers. The diagnosis came back with bad news.

“I had given up and it was really sad. I had no control over my hand, and my left side was most affected,” said Veriato. “Your fine motor skills are really compromised. My left leg tremors, I don’t have hand tremors so much anymore, but I do have issues with my left leg. My foot drags some and my gait is affected by it.”

Seeking immediate relief, Veriato opted for DBS surgery, where electrodes are implanted in the brain while the patient remains awake to monitor responses. Although not a cure, it helps manage symptoms.

“They actually drilled holes in my skull and planted stimulators, leads that put off a charge and help control my motor skills and my movement,” said Veriato. “They help the tremors not be as bad. Between that and medication that’s how it’s controlled.”

She laid on the operating table, awake, while doctors performed the invasive brain surgery. Despite the uncertainty surrounding the procedure’s effectiveness, she clung to her faith like a lifeline.

“I was scared, I was anxious, I was concerned,” she recalled.” I don’t know how to explain it. I was in tears. You don’t know what’s going to happen. And then, all of a sudden, I just felt this overwhelming sense of peace.”

Fast forward five years, and Karen and Steven had both chosen to step away from the game for different reasons. But the older they got, Karen knew it was time to put fear aside and let faith lead. Golf had always been a meaningful part of their relationship, and stepping back into the game together marked an important step forward. 

Due to Parkinson’s-related tremors, golf does feel and look a little different for Karen. Known as “resting tremors,” they typically occur when the body is still. That means she can swing freely when hitting a drive but standing still over a putt is another story entirely.

“Somedays my leg is great, other days my leg is terrible, and when it’s terrible, it’s difficult to putt because my leg shakes, it tremors.” said Veriato. “If you don't have control over your leg because it’s shaking so bad, trying to putt is extremely difficult.” 

The Veriato family took recovery one step further and got a simulator for their house, not just for themselves but as part of their ministry.

“Steve is a very good teacher, and it gives him an opportunity to share his gifts with others by helping them with their swing.” said Karen.

Steven isn’t the only Veriato using his talents to make a difference. Karen hopes to inspire others afflicted with the disease. 

“I feel like I can make a difference in other people’s lives because of the disability I have,” she said “So, it’s not so much about me, but what I can do for others.” 

Although the goal in Virginia is to make match play, Veriato knows just qualifying for the championship was a tremendous hurdle.

“I would love to make match play, and I'm going to work as hard as I can to do that,” said Veriato “But if I don’t that doesn’t mean I failed. I think I've already succeeded in ways that most would never have tried.”

Karen Veriato is a testament that faith can rewrite any diagnosis.

“My faith is my foundation, and I rely heavily on it.”

Taylar Paige is a summer communications intern. Email her at tpaige@usga.org