The PGA TOUR Champions and The First Tee announced today the 81 junior golfers selected to play in the 2017 PURE Insurance Championship. The annual event, hosted by the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, will be held September 19-24 at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach, Calif., and will be televised internationally on Golf Channel.
Among those from Washington’s First Tee chapters selected to participate are Drew Halili of Port Orchard, Wash. of The First Tee of South Puget Sound, and Haley and Bradley Wong of The First Tee of Greater Seattle.
The 81 participants, ages 14 to 18, were selected by a national panel of judges based on playing ability and comprehension of the life skills and core values learned through their involvement with The First Tee. The juniors will be teamed with 81 PGA TOUR Champions players and 162 amateurs as they compete for the pro-junior title.
As of June 28, players currently committed to compete in the PURE Insurance Championship include World Golf Hall of Fame members Tom Watson and Colin Montgomerie, as well as three-time tournament winner Jeff Sluman and defending champion Paul Broadhurst. Players have until Friday, September 8 to commit, with additional commitments to be announced in the coming months.
The junior field was announced on Golf Channel’s Morning Drive. The show included PGA TOUR player Luke Donald, recent NCAA star Wyndham Clark, and Golf Channel hosts Matt Ginella and Lauren Thompson, with seven junior golfers receiving surprises informing them of their selection.
“We are proud of this year’s juniors selected for the PURE Insurance Championship” said Joe Louis Barrow, Jr., Chief Executive Officer of The First Tee. “Being selected demonstrates their understanding and application of life skills, and ability to play elite golf. We appreciate our partners—PURE Insurance, PGA TOUR Champions, Pebble Beach Resorts, Poppy Hills Golf Course, Monterey Peninsula Foundation and Golf Channel—and their commitment to the event which is a life-changing experience for the juniors.”
In this 14th tournament year, more than 790 participants from The First Tee chapters have benefited from the opportunity to play in the tournament by meeting and learning from PGA TOUR Champions players and amateurs in the field, utilizing the leadership and life skills they have acquired at their chapters.
The First Tee is a nonprofit youth development organization with golf programs centered on building character through Nine Core Values™: honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy and judgment. The PURE Insurance Championship is one of 11 national opportunities provided by The First Tee home office to encourage and motivate young people as they progress through the program and toward high school graduation.
Clint Eastwood is chairman of the event. Play will be conducted on Pebble Beach Golf Links and Poppy Hills Golf Course on Friday and Saturday, with the final round contested solely at Pebble Beach on Sunday.
For more information on the tournament, please visit PUREInsuranceChampionship.com.
