Around the Green

Texas Juniors Headed to Pebble Beach

Ten Texas junior golfers from regional First Tee programs will tee it up at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Poppy Hills Golf Course on Sept. 24-29 for the PGA Tour Champions PURE Insurance Championship Impacting The First Tee.
 
The First Tee and PGA Tour Champions recently announced the 78 First Tee participants selected to play in the 16th annual event, hosted by the Monterey Peninsula Foundation. The 54-hole tournament will be televised internationally on Golf Channel. Among the Texans selected are Orlando “Javie” Cerda Jr. and Malisone Chanthapanya from Fort Worth; Ella Fisher from Aledo; Taleah Washington from Grand Prairie; Zayla White from Cedar Park; Stephany Barbosa from Dallas; Symran Shah from Carrollton; Madison DeBruin and Allyn Stephens from Houston; and Alexa Vela from Pearland.
 
This unique event is the only one of its kind. In all, 78 First Tee teenagers from across the country will be paired with 78 PGA Tour Champions players and 156 amateurs during an official PGA Tour Champions tournament. Ranging in ages from 14-18, the First Tee participants compete for the Pro-Junior Team title. Representing 27 states, participants were selected by a national panel of judges based on their understanding and application of the values and life skills learned through First Tee’s programs, as well as their playing ability.
 
The full junior field was revealed live on Golf Channel’s “Morning Drive” on July 3 and included a video of World Golf Hall of Fame Member Jack Nicklaus surprising Stephen Ma from First Tee of Central Ohio. Other surprises by PGA Tour players and Golf Channel hosts had been recorded over the last month and aired today as part of the PURE Insurance Championship announcement. Max Homa, a recent PGA Tour winner at the Wells Fargo Championship, surprised Cerda Jr., Chanthapanya, Fisher and Washington at The First Tee of Fort Worth.
 
“We are proud to continue our involvement with this prestigious event and help support the great work of the Monterey Peninsula Foundation and First Tee,” said Katherine Frattarola, Chief Marketing Officer of the PURE Group of Insurance Companies. “The impact this event has on the incredible young men and women from the First Tee makes this sponsorship tremendously rewarding for our entire team.”
 
This year’s field of professionals will include World Golf Hall of Fame Members Bernhard Langer, Mark O’Meara, Vijay Singh and Retief Goosen, as well as defending champion and recent KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship winner Ken Tanigawa. Clint Eastwood serves as chairman of the PURE Insurance Championship.
 
Play will be conducted on Pebble Beach Golf Links and Poppy Hills Golf Course on Friday and Saturday, with the final round contested solely at Pebble Beach Golf Links on Sunday, where 23 First Tee juniors will compete based on their 36-hole performance. The tournament will crown one male and one female First Tee Junior Champion on Sunday.
 
Nearly 1,000 teens from First Tee have played in the PURE Insurance Championship, experiencing the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet, play and be mentored by PGA TOUR Champions players and amateurs in the field. For more information, click here.