Media Contact:
Nancy Seely for The First Tee
nseely@shepherdagency.com
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The First Tee Selects 80 Participants To Play At Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (May 23, 2012) – Eighty participants representing 50 chapters of The First Tee have been selected to play in the Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, an official Champions Tour event that will be held July 6-8 and televised internationally on Golf Channel.
The young men and women listed below were selected by a national panel of judges that evaluates participants’ playing ability and comprehension of the life skills and character education learned through their involvement with The First Tee. More than 180 applications were submitted. Monterey Peninsula Foundation, the event’s host organization, chose 8 juniors through the exemption process. Overall, 81 juniors, ages 15-18 will be teamed with 81 Champions Tour players and 162 amateurs as they compete for the title at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Del Monte Golf Course.
“The Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach is an opportunity of a lifetime for the young people in our program,” says Joe Louis Barrow, Jr., chief executive of The First Tee. “Playing at world-renowned golf courses alongside Champions Tour players, the event provides our participants the chance to showcase not only their golfing abilities but also the core values developed through The First Tee’s Life Skills Experience. We are very grateful for the generosity of Nature Valley.”
Champions Tour players scheduled to play include World Golf Hall of Fame members Tom Kite and Nick Price, along with past champions of this unique event. Jeff Sluman, who captured the title in 2008, 2009 and 2011 will be back to defend his title. Chip Beck, John Cook and fan-favorite Fuzzy Zoeller have also committed.
Clint Eastwood is chairman of the event and Arnold Palmer, a Trustee of The First Tee, is honorary co-chair. Play will be conducted on Pebble Beach Golf Links and Del Monte Golf Course on Friday and Saturday, and final round will be played on Pebble Beach on Sunday.
Nature Valley has provided continuous support to The First Tee throughout the years, most recently becoming a Trustee in 2011.
For more information, visit www.thefirstteeopen.com. To learn more about The First Tee, visit www.thefirsttee.org.
About Monterey Peninsula Foundation
Monterey Peninsula Foundation (MPF) is a charitable foundation which disburses funds from the proceeds of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on the PGA TOUR and the Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach on the Champions Tour. MPF focuses on improving the quality of life in Monterey County and surrounding areas. Since the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am came to the Monterey Peninsula in 1947, over $100 million has been raised for charity. In 2004 the First Tee Open at Pebble Beach was introduced to serve as a showcase for The First Tee whose global 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.
About Nature Valley
Nature Valley created the granola bar category in 1975 and brings great taste to active consumers looking for wholesome snacks. Nature Valley offers seven great-tasting granola snacks: Crunch Granola Bars, Sweet & Salty Nut Granola Bars, Chewy Trail Mix Bars, Granola Thins, Yogurt Granola Bars, Roasted Nut Crunch Bars, and Granola Nut Clusters. Nature Valley is also the Official Natural Granola Bar of the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour, the United States Ski and Snowboarding Association, Nature Valley NASTAR, Cross Country Ski Areas Association, Vail Resorts, Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday. In addition, Nature Valley is a sponsor of the Nature Valley Grand Prix and the National Parks Conservation Association.
About the Champions Tour
Collectively, the Champions Tour has the most recognizable and accomplished players in the game with many of its 30 members of the World Golf Hall of Fame competing regularly in its events and numerous other major championship winners among its members. The Champions Tour is a 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. Points earned in 23 official Charles Schwab Cup events in 2012 will determine the Charles Schwab Cup champion, the season-long competition designed to recognize the Champions Tour’s leading player. The Champions Tour's primary purpose is to provide financial opportunities for its players, entertain and inspire its fans, deliver substantial value to its partners, create outlets for volunteers to give back, protect the integrity of the game and generate significant charitable and economic impact in communities in which it plays. In 2011, tournaments on all three Tours (PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour) generated more than $118 million for local charitable organizations, bringing the TOUR’s all-time total of charitable contributions to more than $1.7 billion. The Commissioner of the PGA TOUR is Tim Finchem. Mike Stevens is President of the Champions Tour. The PGA TOUR’s website is www.pgatour.com, the No. 1 site in golf, and the organization is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. Follow the Champions Tour at Facebook.com/Champions Tour and on Twitter @ChampionsTour.
About The First Tee
The First Tee (www.thefirsttee.org), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit youth development organization whose mission is to impact the lives of young people by providing educational programs that build character, instill life-enhancing values and promote healthy choices through the game of golf. With its home office at World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Fla., The First Tee reaches young people on golf courses, in elementary schools and on military installations.
Since its inception in 1997, The First Tee has introduced the game of golf and its values to more than 6.5 million young people in all 50 United States and six international locations. The First Tee is an initiative of the World Golf Foundation and its Founding Partners are LPGA, the Masters Tournament, PGA of America, PGA TOUR and the USGA. Shell Oil Company is The First Tee’s Founding Corporate Partner and Johnson & Johnson is its Legacy Partner. Former President George W. Bush serves as honorary chair.
Download the list of 2012 Selected Participants
