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