Golf Channel announced the full field of teens which includes exceptional students, AJGA winners and committed collegiate golfers.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (July 8, 2024) – First Tee and PGA TOUR Champions announced today the 80 First Tee participants selected to play in the 2024 PURE Insurance Championship Impacting First Tee. The event will bring teens from First Tee chapters to Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course for the PGA TOUR Champions tournament, Sept. 17-22. The annual event, hosted by PURE Insurance and Monterey Peninsula Foundation, is televised internationally on Golf Channel.
This unique event pairs each First Tee participant with a PGA TOUR Champions player and amateurs from the business world. Ranging in ages from 15 to 18, the First Tee players compete for the male/female pro-junior team title. The teens represent 45 First Tee chapters from across the country and for the fourth 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 group averages a 3.89 GPA and has spent an average of seven years in First Tee.
“I’m so proud to continue our involvement with this incredible organization,” 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, so it is personally gratifying to know that our support impacts such a remarkable group of young men and women.”
The full junior field was revealed live on Golf Channel’s “Golf Today,” featuring an interview with Tim O’Neal and Morgan Riley of First Tee – Triangle, who teamed up to finish fourth in the pro-junior boy division in 2023.
Each year two juniors receive exemptions into the PURE Insurance Championship based on their play at the First Tee National Championship, which took place at Clemson University’s Walker Golf Course in June. This year, Gianna Singh of First Tee – Greater Sacramento and Spencer Ives of First Tee – Naples/Collier earned the exemptions by finishing 6th and 2nd respectively.
“This is an exciting moment for these 80 participants, many of whom have been working for years with the goal of earning a spot in this tournament,” said Greg McLaughlin, First Tee CEO. “Thank you to our partners at PURE Insurance, PGA TOUR Champions, Pebble Beach Resorts, Monterey Peninsula Foundation and Golf Channel for their support of this special week, which is full of lessons for our teens, both on and off the golf course.”
This year’s field of PGA TOUR Champions players will feature legends including Ernie Els and Vijay Singh, and as well as three-time PURE Insurance Championship winner Kirk Triplett and Thongchai Jaidee, 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 24 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.
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 2024 PURE Insurance Championship can be viewed here.