For Immediate Release                                  July 22, 2009

Contact: Steve Gerrish, The First Tee                904-940-4314                sgerrish@thefirsttee.org

70 JUNIOR GOLFERS SELECTED TO PLAY IN
WALMART FIRST TEE OPEN AT PEBBLE BEACH

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Seventy junior golfers from The First Tee have been selected to play in the Walmart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach presented by Nature Valley, an official Champions Tour event that will be held September 4-6 during Labor Day weekend and televised nationally on GOLF CHANNEL.

As one of the most unique and popular events on the PGA TOUR, the Walmart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach annually attracts an all-star lineup of Champions Tour players that have previously included World Golf Hall of Fame members Ben Crenshaw, Hale Irwin, Tom Kite, Larry Nelson, Gary Player, Lee Trevino and Tom Watson.

Two selection events for 123 boys and girls ages 14-18 were held for young people that participate at The First Tee Chapters nationwide.  Thirty-nine girls competed for 22 spots while 84 boys vied for 48 invitations.  The girls’ event was conducted July 7-11 in Rye, NH while the boys’ event was held July 14-18 in Rogers, Ark.

The selection process evaluates participants’ playing ability and comprehension of the life skills and core lessons learned through involvement with The First Tee.

To round out the final field of 78 juniors that will compete in the tournament, the host organization, The Monterey Peninsula Foundation, will award eight exemptions.
 
The following junior participants have been selected to play:

First	Last	Chapter	STATE
Brik	Brauburger	Northwest Arkansas	AR
Michael	Guardiola	Phoenix	AZ
Sal	Guardiola	Phoenix	AZ
Blake	Toolan	Phoenix	AZ
Wesley	Levanduski	Central Coast	CA
Briana	Mao	Greater Sacramento	CA
Alex	Gibbs	Greater Sacramento	CA
Austin	Smotherman	Greater Sacramento	CA
Ashley	Noda	Greater Sacramento	CA
Taryn	Yee	Greater Sacramento	CA
Will	Scarlett	Greater Sacramento	CA
Esther	Rojas	Modesto	CA
Kathleen	Rojas	Modesto	CA
Nathan	Winn	Monterey County	CA
John	Louie	Monterey County	CA
Wally	Gonzalez	San Diego	CA
Madilena	Mendiola	San Diego	CA
Alexandra	Wong	San Francisco	CA
Andrea	Wong	San Francisco	CA
Ryan	Rankin	San Jose	CA
Reuben	Torres	South Los Angeles	CA
Rachelle	Reali	Tri-Valley	CA
Natalie	Bodnar	Tri-Valley	CA
Travis	Rowney	Tri-Valley	CA
Carly	Goldstein	Broward	FL
Kelly	Allen	Jacksonville	FL
Lavanty	Simonis	Lakeland	FL
Melissa	Edmonson	Miami	FL
Rene	Kelly	Naples/Collier	FL
Ashleigh	Ryals	Northwest Florida	FL
Ericka	Schneider	Sarasota/Manatee	FL
Evan	Glanville	Atlanta	GA
Malcolm	Perry	Atlanta	GA
Garreth	Carpenter	Augusta	GA
Samuel	Odi	Augusta	GA
Sterling	Tran	Augusta	GA
Louis	Reisman III	Savannah	GA
Hart	Thompson	Savannah	GA
Christopher	Davis	Greater Rockford	IL
Thatcher	Keast	Salina	KS
Will	Bishop	Lexington	KY
Timothy	Harris	Greater New Orleans	LA
Karthikeya	Menta	Montgomery County	MD
Gianna	Misenhelter	Greater Kansas City	MO
Brett	Denap	Greater St. Louis	MO
Preston	Matchett	Montana	MT
Dalton	Gore	Brunswick County	NC
John	Dunlap	the Sandhills	NC
Caroline	Ellington	the Triangle	NC
Justin	Thomas	the Triangle	NC
Alex	Phillips	Northern Nevada	NV
Xander	McDonald-Smith	Nassau County	NY
Patrick	Fahey	Western New York	NY
Jeff	Cockerham	Akron	OH
Paul	Chirdon	Cleveland	OH
Josh	Bernard	Tulsa	OK
Brandon	McDade	Tulsa	OK
Calvin	Flax	The Children's Course	OR
Ian	Bellah	Philadelphia	PA
Evan	Myer	Pittsburgh	PA
Nick	Redondo	Pittsburgh	PA
Clifton	Jordan	Memphis	TN
Isaiah	Huerta	Dallas	TX
Nicklaus	Janss	Greater Austin	TX
Elena	Warren	Greater Austin	TX
Tezira	Abe	Houston/F.M. Law Park	TX
Sara	Diaz	San Antonio	TX
Robert	Bose	Hampton Roads	VA
Gavin	Parker	Richmond & Chesterfield	VA
Lindsay	Chinn	Greater Seattle	WA

To learn more about the sixth annual Walmart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, visit www.thefirsttee.org or www.thefirstteeopen.com.

About The First Tee
The First Tee (www.thefirsttee.org) is an initiative of the World Golf Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in St. Augustine, FL at World Golf Village, home of the World Golf Hall of Fame.  Its mission is to impact the lives of young people by providing learning facilities and educational programs that promote character development and life-enhancing values through the game of golf.  Since its inception in 1997, The First Tee has introduced the game of golf and its values to more than 2.9 million participants in 49 states, over 2,800 elementary schools and five international locations – Canada, England, Ireland, New Zealand and Singapore.   Former President George H. W. Bush serves as honorary chairman.  The First Tee Founding Partners are The Masters Tournament, LPGA, PGA of America, PGA TOUR and the USGA.

About the Champions Tour
The Champions Tour is a tax-exempt membership organization of professional golfers age 50 and older. Conceived in 1980 as the Senior PGA Tour, it started with just four events and purses totaling $475,000. The Champions Tour now has 25 official Charles Schwab Cup events offering $48.9 million in prize money in 2009 and its highest average purse ever of $1.96 million.  The Champions Tour's primary purpose is to provide significant competitive and earnings opportunities for players age 50 and older; to protect the integrity of the game; and to help grow the reach of the game in the U.S. and around the world. In addition to providing competitive opportunities for its membership, Champions Tour events also generate significant sums of money for charity. In addition to providing competitive opportunities for its membership, Champions Tour events generate significant sums of money for charity.  The commissioner of the PGA TOUR is Tim Finchem. Mike Stevens is president of the Champions Tour. TOUR headquarters is in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Our web site address is PGATOUR.com.