Grand Prize Winner: Raymond Jin, First Tee of Greater Trenton
Raymond first became involved with First Tee through his mother’s friend. Nervous and a bit shy, Raymond was naturally reluctant. But it turned out to be one of the best decisions he’s ever made.
“As I progressed through the program, First Tee completely changed me as a person. Before, I was a shy little boy hiding behind my parents’ back. Now, I’m able to interact and form lasting relationships with people from all walks of life. I now embrace unconventionality and uncertainty and thrive in new and unfamiliar situations. Because of First Tee, I am able to make a difference in the lives of young people and those in my community. I am passionate about working with people and mentoring.”
Involved with First Tee of Greater Trenton for six years, Raymond now serves as a junior coach mentoring young kids in the program. Outside his time with First Tee, he also has a budding career as an amateur musician. Competing as a classically trained violinist, Raymond was a competitor on China’s Got Talent, and finished second in the junior division. He also is a concertmaster and member of the All-State Orchestra. He has had internships with New Jersey Assemblyman Daniel R. Benson is also a Scholastic Gold and Silver Key in photography.
He’s currently a junior in high school and his immediate goals include getting into college majoring in managerial business or financial engineering, with the goal of opening up his own business to serve underserved communities through professional development initiatives. He values the foundations of mentorship provided to him at First Tee of Greater Trenton and the meaning it has brought to his life.
“I now understand the value of discovering talent in unorthodox places. Today, my students are my chief source of inspiration and constant, tireless improvement as a student, athlete, artist, musician, leader, mentor and citizen in the 21st Century. My students’ struggles are my test of strength, and their willingness to learn and ceaseless energy are the only compensation I need for a lifetime of public service.”
Read Raymond’s essay that earned him a spot in the Wells Fargo Pro-am.
Jalyn Robinson, First Tee of Greater Sacramento (First Prize Winner)
Kayli Lucas, First Tee of Tennessee (First Prize Winner)
Kayli was first introduced to First Tee from a church friend in sixth grade. Before entering First Tee, Kayli was introverted and says she had low self-esteem. As she progressed through the life skills and golf curriculum, she felt her demeanor change.
“I wanted to be adventurous and try new opportunities, but my confidence did not match my ambitions… I had finally found a place to grow and express my interests. The camaraderie among participants and coaches is unparalleled at First Tee. As I began to mature and find myself as a person, I was supported and guided by those around me, and simultaneously, I was able to do the same for others.”
Gaining self-confidence changed Kayli’s life.
“I initially did not pass ‘Par’ after my first time attending the course, but the process of retaking and passing ‘Par’ taught me that a lack of confidence was my only limitation – not the opinion of others. After this pivotal event in my life, I began to flourish and break out of my shell in all aspects. As a student, I embraced my unique qualities and began to excel in not only the classroom, but also in social settings. I began to confidently express myself and develop friendships with everyone I met. On the golf course, my game entered an entirely new level. My newfound confidence and work ethic advanced me to enter the ACE Program at the start of my freshman year of high school.”
Kayli played on the varsity golf team throughout her high school career, leading them to the regional tournament for the first time in the school’s history. She will attend the University of Alabama in the fall, majoring in biology. Though she doesn’t yet know her long-term career goals, Kayli hopes to continue her journey with First Tee by turning to her peers and mentors for counsel when faced with challenging decisions.
Maya Hunter, First Tee of Benton Harbor (First Prize Winner)
Maya began her First Tee journey at a very young age alongside her brother. Their local chapter had recently opened a location in their area. Even though Maya had never played golf before, her mother signed her up for a summer program. That summer program quickly turned into something more as she progressed through the program, falling in love with golf and the life lessons learned through First Tee.
“The core values and everything else I learned positively impacted my life in many ways. Many of the lessons were easy to take into everyday life, like a simple confident handshake or earning and giving the respect we all deserve.”
Maya recalls a time in her golf career where honesty was more important than winning.
“Honesty is a true judge of character. If I can keep a reputation of honesty on the course and in life, which is quite hard sometimes, I believe I will be a step ahead of everyone at my level. I may not be physically better, but I am willing to make a hard decision to stay true to my moral code of honesty.”
Maya will be entering her senior year of high school this fall. She hopes to win regionals and a state title and earn a full scholarship through a caddy program to a top university.
These four winners will attend the 2021 Wells Fargo Championship. As the Grand Prize Winner, Raymond will experience the thrill of playing golf with the PGA TOUR professional of his choice during the tournament’s pro-am. Thank you, Wells Fargo for your longstanding partnership and support of First Tee. Wells Fargo has renewed their commitment for the next five years to support First Tee’s youth development program. Thank you to all applicants, and congratulations to all finalists!
First Tee’s teen participants have an exciting new opportunity to explore their future and the possibilities golf can provide at the first-ever 
Enjoying an inside look at what it’s like working at one of the largest corporations in the world during 
As 2019 draws to a close, I can’t help but be proud of the millions of lives that have been impacted this year through First Tee. Whether it’s on a golf course, in school or at a community center, we are helping young people build their strength of character and empowering them to pursue their goals.
This year marks our 22nd year helping kids and teens develop character through the game of golf. It takes a strong network of chapters and support from our partners, donors, staff and volunteers, to ensure we reach young people with our life-changing programs.
Thank you for your contributions to our mission to help us reach tomorrow’s leaders.
Here are some of our favorite moments from the year. We look forward to making many more in 2020.
Warm regards,
Greg McLaughlin
President, First Tee
This year, First Tee expanded by four new chapters! With support from partners like Citi and the Royal Moroccan Golf Federation, First Tee expanded to 
This year’s PURE Insurance Championship was a huge success! Sportsmanship and teamwork were out in full force as participants, family and friends came out to support the 78 junior players. It was the 
2. Each of the 42 high school seniors in the field were surprised with a $1,000 college scholarship thanks to Ed and Lisa Vaughn.
3. PGA TOUR Champions pro Woody Austin sunk a hole-in-one on Pebble Beach’s No. 17 – complete with a celebration alongside his teammate and First Tee of San Joaquin participant, Lauren Garces.
4. Six First Tee juniors and six PGA TOUR Champions pros were paired up for the 
5. Scott Schlader from First Tee of Phoenix and defending champion Ken Tanigawa had a little fun before their first round.
Format
Modified Scotch alternate-shot format. Each team plays alternate shot to completion of hole.
Final hole (17 ½) is closest to the pin chip shot by the junior golfers only.
Scholarship Purse
Total purse: $100,000 ($20,000 per hole). Scholarships on behalf of Chevron will be given to First Tee HQ in the name of the First Tee Junior.
Participants
Neil Babu
First Tee of Northern Nevada
Hometown: Reno, NV
Age: 16
Grade: Junior
Handicap: 3.9
Fun Fact: I am a third-degree black belt in Taekwondo, which I earned this year. It has taught me perseverance, hard word and grit.
Malisone Chanthapanya
First Tee of Fort Worth
Hometown: Fort Worth, TX
Age: 16
Grade: Junior
Handicap: 0.5
Fun Fact: I am quadrilingual. I can speak fluent English and French (thanks to my father, who speaks the language). I learned Mandarin Chinese for three years and Spanish for 11 years.
Madison DeBruin
First Tee of Greater Houston
Hometown: Houston, TX
Age: 16
Grade: Junior
Handicap: 4.8
Fun Fact: At a young age, I taught myself how to read hieroglyphs and am obsessed with everything ancient Egyptian. I work at the same museum I have been visiting my whole life and am trained in all sorts of macabre areas.
Sean Dobson
First Tee of Metropolitan Oklahoma City
Hometown: Oklahoma City, OK
Age: 18
Grade: Senior
Handicap: 5.9
Fun Fact: I have a fascination with meteorology. The only time I have ever met anyone else my age who shares my love for weather was at a summer weather camp that I traveled hundreds of miles to attend.
Ella Fisher
First Tee of Fort Worth
Hometown: Aledo, TX
Age: 16
Grade: Junior
Handicap: 2.9
Fun Fact: I’m learning American Sign Language and have had the opportunity to immerse myself in the deaf community and really test out my skills.
Anthony Ford II
First Tee of Metro Atlanta
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
Age: 16
Grade: Senior
Handicap: 2.1
Fun Fact: I like to try new things. I picked Harp Ensemble as my elective unlike many of my peers who chose P.E. or weight training.
Lukas Freelove
First Tee of Salina
Hometown: Salina, KS
Age: 18
Grade: Senior
Handicap: 1.2
Fun Fact: Before I was born, my parents were struggling to come up with a boy’s name that they liked. One night while watching Star Wars, it hit my mom: Luke. My dad loved it, too; mostly because he would be able to say, “Luke, I am your father.”
Skylar Graham
First Tee of Los Angeles
Hometown: Rosewood, CA
Age: 17
Grade: Senior
Handicap: 6.4
Fun Fact: I am a photographer. In 2017, I was awarded two gold medals for Best-In-Grade in photography by the National Scholastic Art & Writing competition. My work was honored in New York at Carnegie Hall, and it toured in other galleries across the nation.
Ryan Guzzo
First Tee of Benton Harbor
Hometown: Benton Harbor, MI
Age: 16
Grade: Junior
Handicap: 4
Fun Fact: As a third-grader, I was selected to have a golf lesson with Jack Nicklaus as a kickoff celebration to a PGA TOUR Champions event at our local course. I hit balls on the range while Mr. Nicklaus coached my swing. In eighth grade, I completed a video assignment on the impact he had on me. My dad sent the video to Jack Nicklaus through his website, and incredibly he watched it and sent me a letter with a signed picture of us together from that day.
Keiki Hofilena
First Tee of Greater Seattle
Hometown: Bellevue, WA
Age: 17
Grade: Senior
Handicap: 5
Fun Fact: I’m restoring a 1984 Volkswagen Mk2 Scirocco Wolfsburg edition into a daily driver/racecar. I drive the car to school and try to keep it in good shape.
Grace Holcomb
First Tee of Greater Wilmington
Hometown: Wilmington, NC
Age: 16
Grade: Junior
Handicap: 0.9
Fun Fact: I played Baby Jenny on the hit TV series, “One Tree Hill.” During a convention this past February, I signed autographs for fans. Some of the fans – and One Tree Hill actress Hilarie Burton, a.k.a. Peyton – follow my golf career.
Alexander Iniakov
First Tee of Monterey County
Hometown: Salinas, CA
Age: 17
Grade: Junior
Handicap: 0.9
Fun Fact: My parents are first-generation immigrants and came from countries where golf is not a popular game. I was raised with four languages spoken daily at our house. Teachers would call my Mom and ask her to translate what I was saying. It turns out, I was simply making my own language, thinking that I had to since everyone at home spoke their own.
Jack Kray
First Tee of South Dakota
Hometown: Sioux Falls, SD
Age: 16
Grade: Junior
Handicap: 4.9
Fun Fact: When the weather is nice, I ride my moped around town instead of driving a car. It is orange and white. Four of my friends have mopeds, too! We like to join up and go for rides together.
Stephen Ma
First Tee of Central Ohio
Hometown: Columbus, OH
Age: 14
Grade: Freshman
Handicap: 6
Fun Fact: I presented Ohio legislation to increase the number of horse therapy centers as there is a waiting list of more than 5,000 kids. I co-authored a proposal to change the tax code for stables to qualify for discounted property taxes and the handicap access necessary for the level of horse therapy certification for stables. My teammates and I presented the proposal to State Representative Jonathan Dever, who is drafting a bill and presenting it to the House.
Sutton McMillan
First Tee of Metropolitan Oklahoma City
Hometown: Choctaw, OK
Age: 15
Grade: Sophomore
Handicap: 0.3
Fun Fact: I’m named after legendary basketball coach, Eddie Sutton. I met Coach Sutton at four months old. He gave me a pair of signed Nike shoes. Six months later, he sent another signed pair and called my parents personally to wish us a Merry Christmas.
Tyler Mistretta
First Tee of The Palm Beaches
Hometown: North Palm Beach, FL
Age: 17
Grade: Junior
Handicap: 1.6
Fun Fact: I am very tall, at 6 feet, 8 inches and weigh 220 pounds. People often stare at me, as I am usually the tallest person wherever I go.
Ryan Sauer
First Tee of North Florida
Hometown: Jacksonville, FL
Age: 17
Grade: Senior
Handicap: 4.7
Fun Fact: I’ve gained the nickname “Peter Parker” because some people think I look like the Spiderman actor, Tobey Maguire.
Sophie Shrader
First Tee of Naples/Collier
Hometown: Naples, FL
Age: 17
Grade: Senior
Handicap: 5
Fun Fact: I’m obsessed with the restaurant Moe’s. I once had Moe’s for lunch nine days in a row, ordering the same meal each time – a chicken stack with cheese, black beans, queso and seasoned rice.
Jamozzy Skenandore
First Tee of Northeast Wisconsin
Hometown: De Pere, WI
Age: 17
Grade: Senior
Handicap: 0.9
Fun Fact: Many people do not know how to pronounce my name. My Dad came up with it. It is derived from the rock band Pearl Jam and Ozzy Osbourne, Jam-ozzy. My family and I often drive to golf tournaments on our RV. We will be traveling to Pebble Beach on the RV from Wisconsin, making fun pit stops along the way.
Zayla White
First Tee of Greater Austin
Hometown: Austin, TX
Age: 17
Grade: Senior
Handicap: 3.7
Fun Fact: I have a growing record collection, and anyone who knows me knows that I’m almost always listening to music. I pride myself on finding different artists across all genres.
