Golf legend Jack Nicklaus, Golf Channel’s Damon Hack, and PGA TOUR players, including First Tee alum Austin Smotherman and Cameron Champ, surprise teens with an invitation to the event
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (July 5, 2022) – First Tee and PGA TOUR Champions announced today the 78 First Tee participants selected to play in the 2022 PURE Insurance Championship Impacting First Tee. The event, in its 19th year, will bring teens from First Tee chapters to Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course for the PGA TOUR Champions tournament, Sept. 20-25. The annual event, hosted by the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, is televised internationally on Golf Channel.
Throughout the week, the teens apply their character strengths and the life skills learned from First Tee programs during the one-of-a-kind event where they are paired with a PGA TOUR Champions player and amateurs from the business world. Ranging in ages from 14 to 18, the First Tee participants compete for the Pro-Junior Team title. The teens represent 52 First Tee chapters from across the country and – for the second year in a row – a participant from First Tee — Morocco will be in the field. Participants were selected by a national panel of judges based on their personal growth and development through First Tee’s programs, as well as their playing ability.
The full junior field was revealed live on Golf Channel’s “Golf Today” with host Damon Hack surprising Diego Ocasio from First Tee – Metropolitan New York with the news of his selection. In addition, several players and legends of the game helped surprise select participants leading up to the full field announcement, including World Golf Hall of Fame Member Jack Nicklaus, PGA TOUR players Stewart Cink, Cameron Champ and Austin Smotherman, PGA TOUR Champions players Ken Duke and Larry Mize and No. 1 APGA Collegiate Player and Duke University stand-out Quinn Riley.
In addition to the surprises, Bryson Hughes of First Tee – North Florida and Francesca Sumcad of First Tee – Silicon Valley each earned exemptions this month during the First Tee National Championship.
“Congratulations to the 78 participants who have been selected to play and represent First Tee on a national stage,” said Greg McLaughlin, First Tee CEO. “This is a special year as First Tee celebrates our 25th anniversary of empowering youth and providing opportunities like the PURE Insurance Championship for participants to take their First Tee experience to the next level and explore the possibilities in golf and beyond. Thank you to our partners − PURE Insurance, PGA TOUR Champions, Pebble Beach Resorts, Monterey Peninsula Foundation and Golf Channel − for their commitment to young people and helping us provide this opportunity to these deserving teens.”
This year’s field of PGA TOUR Champions players will feature World Golf Hall of Fame Members Bernhard Langer, Mark O’Meara, Vijay Singh, as well as three-time PURE Insurance Championship winners Kirk Triplett and KJ Choi, who will defend his title. Clint Eastwood serves as chairman of the PURE Insurance Championship.
Play will be conducted on Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course on Friday and Saturday. The final round will be 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.
More than 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.
“Supporting these incredible young men and women along with the great work of First Tee through this sponsorship is tremendously rewarding for our entire team,” said Katie Krum, Chief Marketing Officer at PURE Insurance. “I know firsthand the impact and value that participating in youth sports can have on one’s development, personally and professionally, so I am particularly proud to be part of an organization that lends support to such a worthy cause.”
First Tee is a youth development organization that teaches life skills and helps kids and teens build their strength of character through golf. The PURE Insurance Championship is one of several national opportunities provided by First Tee Headquarters to encourage and motivate participants as they progress through the program and toward higher education opportunities.
The junior field for 2022 PURE Insurance Championship can be viewed here.
