70 PARTICIPANTS OF THE FIRST TEE SELECTED TO PLAY NATURE VALLEY FIRST TEE OPEN AT PEBBLE BEACH

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (May 26, 2011)  – Seventy participants representing 47 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 conducted July 8-10 and televised nationally on Golf Channel.

These young men and women were selected through a process that evaluates participants’ playing ability and comprehension of the life skills and character education learned through their involvement with The First Tee.  More than 250 applications were submitted. Of the 70 selected to play, 47 are junior boys and 23 are junior girls.

Monterey Peninsula Foundation, the event’s host organization, will select eight more juniors next week to participate in the event. Overall, 78 Champions Tour players will be teamed with 78 juniors and 156 amateurs as they compete for the title at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Del Monte Golf Course.

The participants selected to play are listed below.

Champions Tour players scheduled to play include World Golf Hall of Fame members Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite, along with past champions of this unique event, Craig Stadler, Scott Simpson and Jeff Sluman, who captured the title in 2008 and 2009. Chip Beck, John Cook and fan-favorite Fuzzy Zoeller have also committed.

Clint Eastwood is chairman of the event and Arnold Palmer is honorary co-chair.  Play will be conducted on Pebble Beach Golf Links and Del Monte Golf Course on Friday and Saturday, and on Pebble Beach only on Sunday. 

Leading up to and during the event, participants—many of whom are playing Pebble Beach for the first time—will blog about their experiences. To learn more about the Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, 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 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 $93 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 General Mills

One of the world's leading food companies, General Mills operates in more than 100 countries and markets more than 100 consumer brands, including Cheerios, Häagen-Dazs, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Old El Paso, Progresso, Yoplait, Cascadian Farm, Muir Glen, and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, General Mills had fiscal 2010 global net sales of US$16 billion, including the company’s $1.2 billion proportionate share of joint venture net sales.

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 29 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 official Charles Schwab Cup events in 2011 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 2010, tournaments on all three Tours (PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour) generated $120 million for local charitable organizations, bringing the TOUR’s all-time total of charitable contributions to more than $1.6 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 for golf, and the organization is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

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 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 4.7 million participants in all 50 United States and four 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. President George W. Bush serves as honorary chair. 

The First Tee Participants Selected to Play in 2011 Event

Arizona

Timothy Briones The First Tee of Phoenix

Mike McGilton The First Tee of Phoenix

Anthony Quezada The First Tee of Phoenix

California

Adam Zakaria  The First Tee of Central Coast

Kathleen Rojas  The First Tee of Central Valley

Megan Conder   The First Tee of Contra Costa

Alanna Loyd   The First Tee of Fresno

Brandon Baumgarten The First Tee of Greater Sacramento

Nichole Cruz   The First Tee of Greater Sacramento

Drew Robbins  The First Tee of Greater Sacramento

Sara Scarlett   The First Tee of Greater Sacramento

Clare Sorensen   The First Tee of Greater Sacramento

Jorgeo Catolico  The First Tee of San Diego

Andrea Wong  The First Tee of San Francisco

Kalmina Wu  The First Tee of San Jose

Samantha Martin  The First Tee of South Los Angeles

Monique Riley  The First Tee of The Tri-Valley

Florida

Kelly Allen The First Tee of Jacksonville

Blair Waters The First Tee of Jacksonville

Rocky Hirsch The First Tee of Lakeland

Markie McCann The First Tee of Lakeland

Stefano Diaz The First Tee of Miami

Stephanie Carlozzi The First Tee of Naples/Collier

Abraham Bell The First Tee of St. Johns County

Benjarong Murray The First Tee of St. Petersburg

Georgia

Tommy Swearingen, III  The First Tee of Atlanta

Martavious Adams The First Tee of East Lake

Illinois

Blake Billups The First Tee of Joliet

Indiana

Logan Bertalan The First Tee of Valparaiso

Kansas

Benjamin Hargrave  The First Tee of Salina

Kentucky

Ben Davis The First Tee of Lexington

Lindsay Davis The First Tee of Pine Mountain

Michael Wilson The First Tee of Pine Mountain

Louisiana

Ryan Alford The First Tee of Northwest Louisiana

Massachusetts

Trevor Bernier The First Tee of Massachusetts

Maryland

Bryana Nguyen The First Tee of Howard County

Minnesota

Elizabeth Bauernfeind The First Tee of Three Rivers Park District

Jack Holmgren The First Tee of Three Rivers Park District

Nevada

Tess Jones The First Tee of Northern Nevada

Julian Glasser The First Tee of Southern Nevada

Sarah Thomas The First Tee of Southern Nevada

New Jersey

Kuriko Tsukiyama The First Tee of Metropolitan New York

New York

Cory Cullen The First Tee of Western New York

Patrick Fahey The First Tee of Western New York

Tyler McCaine The First Tee of Metropolitan New York

Kyle Morris The First Tee of Metropolitan New York

North Carolina

Tim Bringard The First Tee of Brunswick County

Harrison Taylor The First Tee of Brunswick County

John Dunlap The First Tee of the Sandhills

Kendall Dunn The First Tee of the Triad

Ohio

Chase Johnson The First Tee of Akron

Patrick Schultz The First Tee of Akron

Oklahoma

Nadia Majidi The First Tee of Tulsa

Oregon

Austin Landis The First Tee of Greater Portland

Pennsylvania

Andrew Demofonte The First Tee of Sharon

Tennessee

Aaron Burnett The First Tee of Nashville

Texas

Allie Agrella The First Tee of Greater Austin

Lakareber Abe The First Tee of Greater Houston

Thomas Cazares The First Tee of Greater Houston

Gregory Steinhelper The First Tee of San Antonio

Kade Keith The First Tee of The Piney Woods

Felicia Sauceda The First Tee of The Golden Triangle

Virginia

Drew Board The First Tee of Roanoke Valley

Kolton Cooper The First Tee of Roanoke Valley

Tony Liu The First Tee of Charlottesville

Jason Park The First Tee of Richmond & Chesterfield

Gavin Parker The First Tee of Richmond & Chesterfield

Washington

Haley Chinn The First Tee of Greater Seattle

Lyle Rudnicki The First Tee of Greater Seattle

Oliver Rudnicki The First Tee of Greater Seattle