Manhattan Beach’s Jarod Knight Turns a Love of Golf into a Fundraising Machine for Brain Cancer Research
The long game.
In 2018, at the age of 29, Manhattan Beach native Jarod Knight received a diagnosis of glioblastoma, a highly aggressive and malignant brain tumor. Over the last seven years, Jarod has undergone three surgeries with UCLA Health neurosurgeon Linda Liau, MD, and oncologist Timothy Cloughesy, MD, to treat his cancer.
“My diagnosis is pretty bleak for most people,” Jarod shares. “I’m one of the lucky ones because of my genetics. These 5% of patients have a much longer prognosis potential.”
“I had a pretty strong feeling we could create something special and give back to my doctors at UCLA.”
Beyond treating his cancer, Jarod wanted to do more. A onetime Division I college golfer at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Jarod looked for a way to incorporate his love for the sport with cancer fundraising. He set his sights on a golf tournament.
“It took a number of years for me to get to a point where I could do something like this,” he remembers. “But I knew golf brings people together. I had a pretty strong feeling we could create something special and give back to my doctors at UCLA.”
First Jarod needed to find a nonprofit organization with 501(c)(3) status. The Uncle Kory Foundation, a local organization dedicated to brain cancer fundraising and awareness, seemed like the perfect fit. “They were 100% on board and wanted to make the tournament a success,” he says.
Together Jarod and the Uncle Kory Foundation presented the first Knights in Gray Golf Classic in 2022. In just three years, the tournament raised over $400,000 for brain cancer research at UCLA Health.
“The work they [Dr. Liau and Dr. Cloughesy] are doing is pretty incredible,” says Jarod. “They prolonged and saved my life. The least I can do is give back to them. I feel like they are getting close, through research, to changing the world for brain tumor patients.”
According to Jarod’s mom, Linda Danis, many people have been personally affected by glioblastoma. “The first phone call Jarod made was to Moorpark Country Club, where the tournament is held,” she recalls. “He got the head pro on the line, who shared that a neighbor had recently passed away from glioblastoma. He said he absolutely wanted to host the tournament.”
While Jarod took 2025 off to focus on family obligations, he plans to schedule the next golf classic in the near future. In the meantime, he’ll be part of the UCLA Health Department of Neurosurgery’s 20th anniversary Visionary Ball on December 2. He has been chosen to share a “Points of Light” speech, an honor bestowed on patients who share about their experience with UCLA Neurosurgery, providing hope and perspective.
As always, Jarod is committed to spreading positive vibes, creating momentum and raising additional funds for cancer research and cure. “There are people who are 20-plus-year survivors,” he says of the progress both his cancer team and others have made with glioblastoma. “I’m working on setting the record.”
