Eighty-One The First Tee Juniors Selected For First Tee Open

Eighty-One The First Tee Juniors Selected For First Tee Open

July 14, 2014

For 81 The First Tee juniors, their golden ticket has arrived.

On Monday, 81 The First Tee participants representing 56 chapters of The First Tee were selected to play in the upcoming Championship Tour Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, to be held Sept. 26-28 at Pebble Beach Golf Links and the new Poppy Hills Golf Course.

The juniors, ages 14 to18, were  selected by a national panel of judges that evaluated participants’ playing ability and comprehension of the life skills and core values learned through their involvement with The First Tee. More than 150 applications were submitted.

“Nature Valley is proud to be associated with this event, and thrilled to see these juniors get the call of a lifetime,” said Joe Ens, vice president of marketing at General Mills. “The First Tee is doing  incredible work helping young people learn important life lessons like the Nine Core Values. We look forward to welcoming the full junior field at this year’s tournament.”

The juniors will be teamed with 81 Champions Tour players and 162 amateurs as they compete for the event’s pro-junior title.

Champions Tour players who have already committed to play include two-time Nature Valley First Tee Open winner and defending champion Kirk Triplett, Charles Schwab Cup contenders Jay Haas and Kenny Perry and a number of World Golf Hall of Fame members.

Two participants—Cameron Fields from The First Tee of St. Petersburg and Emily Valentine from The First Tee of The Palm Beaches—were told the news of their selection during an interview with Golf Channel. The segment will air Tuesday on Golf Channel’s Morning Drive (7-11 a.m. ET).

“An invitation to this event is a goal many teenage participants at our chapters set, and it is exciting to see their hard work and perseverance rewarded,” Joe Louis Barrow, Jr., chief executive officer of The First Tee, said. “We appreciate our partners—Nature Valley, Champions Tour, Monterey Peninsula Foundation and Golf Channel—and their commitment to the event which is a life-changing experience for the juniors.”

Two of the juniors won’t have far to travel. David Kizilkaya and Patrick Abadilla are members of The First Tee of Monterey County, which is located in Salinas, a 30 minute drive to Poppy Hills.

Overall, 20 juniors from The First Tee facilities throughout California were invited to play.

In its 11th year, more than 550 participants from The First Tee chapters have benefited from the opportunity to play in the tournament by meeting and learning from Champions Tour players and amateurs in the field, utilizing the leadership and life skills they have acquired at their chapters.

Here’s a list of all 81 juniors who were selected to compete.

The First Tee Participants Selected to Play in 2014 Nature Valley First Tee Open:

First Name	Last Name	Chapter	City	State
Hanna	Brauburger	The First Tee of Northwest Arkansas	Bella Vista	AR
Christopher	Meyers	The First Tee of Tucson	Oro Valley	AZ
Emma	Reyes	The First Tee of Phoenix	Mesa	AZ
Matthew	Topilko	The First Tee of Phoenix	Peoria	AZ
Patrick	Abadilla	The First Tee of Monterey County	Salinas	CA
Bryan	Baumgarten	The First Tee of Greater Sacramento	Granite Bay	CA
Kylie	Fong	The First Tee of Greater Sacramento	Elk Grove	CA
Katie	Horsford	The First Tee of Fresno	Fresno	CA
Jack	Jaffe	The First Tee of Silicon Valley	Palo Alto	CA
Donald	Kay	The First Tee of San Diego	San Diego	CA
David	Kizilkaya	The First Tee of Monterey County	Carmel	CA
Stian	Lintvedt	The First Tee of Pasadena	Arcadia	CA
Nicholas	Lloren	The First Tee of Contra Costa	Martinez	CA
Logan	Lowe	The First Tee of Greater Sacramento	Grass Valley	CA
Kayli	Lujan	The First Tee of the Tri-Valley	Pleasanton	CA
Michael	Mahlberg	The First Tee of Greater Sacramento	Vacaville	CA
Joshua	McCarthy	The First Tee of the Tri-Valley	Danville	CA
Will	McMahon	The First Tee of the Coachella Valley	Rancho Mirage	CA
Sam	Miller	The First Tee of San Francisco	San Francisco	CA
Brittany	O’Bryant	The First Tee of Greater Sacramento	Elk Grove	CA
Paige	Phillips	The First Tee of the Tri-Valley	Danville	CA
Nikhil	Swaminathan	The First Tee of Silicon Valley	San Jose	CA
Mabel	Wong	The First Tee of Central Valley	Oakdale	CA
Anna	Zhou	The First Tee of Silicon Valley	Palo Alto	CA
Jason	Liu	The First Tee of Connecticut	Windsor	CT
Emily	Black	The First Tee of Naples/Collier	Naples	FL
Francisco	de la Torre	The First Tee of Miami	Miami	FL
Cameron	Fields	The First Tee of St. Petersburg	St. Petersburg	FL
Mariana	Ocano	The First Tee of St. Petersburg	St. Petersburg	FL
Jenna	Tuccio	The First Tee of Naples/Collier	Marco Island	FL
Emily	Valentine	The First Tee of The Palm Beaches	Jupiter	FL
Austin	Witt	The First Tee of Naples/Collier	Naples	FL
Sarah	Harrison	The First Tee of Augusta	Martinez	GA
Michael	Stallings	The First Tee of Augusta	Augusta	GA
Justin	Williamson	The First Tee of Hawaii	Honolulu	HI
Drew	Casper	The First Tee of Manhattan	Manhattan	KS
Pierson	McAtee	The First Tee of Manhattan	Manhattan	KS
Russ	Tolliver	The First Tee of Pine Mountain	Gray	KY
Angelica	Harris	The First Tee of Greater New Orleans	Harvey	LA
Peter	Mata	The First Tee of East Baton Rouge Parish	Baton Rouge	LA
Micaa	Thomas	The First Tee of Greater Washington, D.C.	Bowie	MD
Charles	Young II	The First Tee of Baltimore	Woodstock	MD
Van	Holmgren	The First Tee of Three Rivers Park District	Corcoran	MN
Bryan	D’Ostroph	The First Tee of the Sandhills	Whispering Pines	NC
Matthew	Guo	The First Tee of the Triad	Clemmons	NC
Mark	Johnston	The First Tee of the Triad	Lewisville	NC
Alexander	Nguyen	The First Tee of the Sandhills	Pinehurst	NC
Jonathan	Paulson	The First Tee of the Triangle	Cary	NC
Cameryn	Smith	The First Tee of Brunswick County	Shallotte	NC
Max	Wimbrow	The First Tee of Charlotte	Concord	NC
Isabel	Gonzalez	The First Tee of Raritan Valley	Bloomfield	NJ
Justin	Murray	The First Tee of Greater Philadelphia	Burlington	NJ
Raymond	Torres	The First Tee of San Juan County, NM	Aztec	NM
Michelle	Duan	The First Tee of Northern Nevada	Reno	NV
Brent	Ito	The First Tee of Metropolitan New York	Ardsley	NY
Tiffany	Schapira	The First Tee of Metropolitan New York	Valley Stream	NY
Erich	Spitz	The First Tee of Western New York	Orchard Park	NY
Brennan	Fanning	The First Tee of Metropolitan Oklahoma City	Oklahoma City	OK
Tommy	Riddle	The First Tee of Tulsa	Tulsa	OK
Jon Paul	Ray	The First Tee of Tulsa	Broken Arrow	OK
Madalyn	Ardueser	The First Tee of Greater Portland	Eugene	OR
Gillian	Alexander	The First Tee of Pittsburgh	Rices Landing	PA
Billy	Colbert	The First Tee of Sharon	Hermitage	PA
Ben	Clarke	The First Tee of South Dakota	Sioux Falls	SD
Jordan	Powell	The First Tee of Nashville	Gallatin	TN
Reed	Shelley	The First Tee of Fort Worth	Fort Worth	TX
Roberto	Arguello	The First Tee of Greater Austin	Austin	TX
Alexandra	Batista	The First Tee of Fort Worth	Trophy Club	TX
Ian	Bellisario	The First Tee of Fort Smith	Fort Smith	TX
Cameron	Carr	The First Tee of Fort Worth	Arlington	TX
Peri’Don Ray	Castille	The First Tee of Greater Dallas	Dallas	TX
Daniel	Dahlinger	The First Tee of Fort Worth	Fort Worth	TX
Andrew	Errico	The First Tee of Fort Worth	Fort Worth	TX
Reed	Fisher	The First Tee of The Piney Woods	Longview	TX
Tarin	Leong	The First Tee of Fort Worth	Arlington	TX
Angelo	Leyvani	The First Tee of Greater San Antonio	San Antonio	TX
Colin	Mulligan	The First Tee of Greater Houston	Houston	TX
Ariana	Saenz	The First Tee of Greater Houston	Porter	TX
Phillip	Hoffman	The First Tee of Harrisonburg	Charlottesville	VA
Tyler	Peterson	The First Tee of Roanoke Valley	Rocky Mount	VA
Chandler	Wilkins	The First Tee of the Triad	Danville	VA

-Jerry Stewart