PEBBLE BEACH, Calif., Jan. 21, 2021 –The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am has granted an exemption to standout APGA Tour golfer Kevin Hall, whose sign-language introduction of The Masters on CBS generated worldwide attention in November. A veteran of multiple Korn Ferry Tour events and the 2017 Genesis Invitational, Hall will tee it up with the best players in the world for the prominent annual stop February 11-14 at the famed Pebble Beach Golf Links.
Hall, 38, is a three-time winner on the emerging, diversity-focused APGA Tour, which has grown to 13 events with $350,000 in prize money over the past decade. He won the APGA Tour’s 2016 season-long Lexus Cup Point Standings Championship and received the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption into the PGA TOUR’s 2017 Genesis Invitational, hosted by Tiger Woods.
After becoming deaf at age two, Hall persevered athletically and started playing golf at age nine. A lifelong resident of Cincinnati, Ohio, he attended St. Rita School for the Deaf and played golf for Winton Woods High School. He earned a scholarship to The Ohio State University, graduated with a degree in journalism and won the 2004 Big Ten individual championship by 11 strokes. He turned pro the following year and has competed on the APGA Tour and other mini-tours plus Korn Ferry Tour and PGA TOUR events since.
Hall’s journey in golf played a role in his selection to do the video introduction to The Masters on CBS. While acknowledging the absence of signature roaring crowds at spectator-less Augusta National, Hall’s enthusiasm and authenticity in his sign language offering captured the essence of one of golf’s most important events in the midst of a global pandemic.
“It is an honor and a blessing for me to compete in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am on the PGA TOUR,” stated Hall, who was informed of the exemption by Tournament Director Steve John. “The tournament will be different in many ways due to the evolving situation with the virus but it is going to be a moment I’ll treasure for the rest of my life. I can’t wait.”
“Kevin Hall is an inspiration and a talented player whom we are thrilled to welcome back to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am,” said Steve John Tournament Director and Monterey Peninsula Foundation CEO. Hall played in the 2006 tournament at Pebble Beach shortly after winning the Big Ten individual championship for Ohio State.
On January 30, Hall will compete in a PGA TOUR environment when he tees off in the
APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Open Invitational, the second annual special event organized by the Century Club of San Diego and Farmers Insurance®. APGA Tour players compete in a one-day, 27-hole tournament on Torrey Pines North while the best players in the world play the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open on Torrey Pines South.
“The Torrey Pines experience will be very exciting. For more than a decade now, the APGA Tour has done a fantastic job of providing opportunities for minority golfers working to compete at the highest level and I’ve benefitted greatly.”
The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am has become one of the most internationally-recognized stops on the PGA TOUR. The tournament is continuing to work closely with the PGA TOUR as well as local officials to ensure the safety and well-being of everyone involved with the event, which will not allow spectators.
