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Jeffrey Forster and Cooper Groshart head to Pebble Beach this September
First Tee and PGA TOUR Champions announced today Jeffrey Forster and Cooper Groshart will represent First Tee — Central Coast when they compete in the 2022 PURE Insurance Championship Impacting First Tee. The event, in its 19th year, will bring teens from First Tee chapters to Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course for the PGA TOUR Champions tournament, Sept. 20-25. The annual event, hosted by the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, is televised nationally on Golf Channel.
Cooper Groshart is from San Luis Obispo, attends San Luis Obispo High School where he plays on the golf team and is a member of the class of 2023. Cooper has been playing competitive golf for seven years, beginning with local youth tournaments and progressing to national level tournaments. He hopes to continue playing golf in college and beyond. He has been lucky enough to have been selected for the first two First Tee National Championship Tournaments. The first was in June 2021 in Clemson, SC, where he placed seventh. The second was in June 2022 at Notre Dame in South Bend, IN, where he placed sixth.
Cooper’s participation in the First Tee started at age 6, and he is now a Jr. Mentor in the program, assisting his First Tee coach, Terri Benson, with developing the younger golfers. Cooper loves the game of golf and the values that it and First Tee instill. He has really enjoyed passing those values and his love for the game onto the younger golfers. He feels so honored to have been selected for the Pure Insurance Championship and could not have done it without all of the great opportunities offered from the First Tee Central Coast chapter.
Jeffrey Forster is from Santa Barbara, CA, attends San Marcos High School where he plays on the golf team and is a member of the class of 2024. He has been playing competitive golf for many years in junior golf tournaments throughout California, and has recently found success in amateur tournaments. His goal is to play at the collegiate level and continue competing at the highest level possible. Jeffrey’s participation in The First Tee started at age seven, and he is now a Jr. Mentor and Certified Assistant Golf Coach in the program along with continuing to be a participant. He really enjoys giving back, leading others and striving towards making a difference. “It’s an honor to be one of the representatives from First Tee Central Coast. I have learned so much about life through being a part of The First Tee and from coach Kyle Marme at the Santa Barbara Golf Club. In the end, I would like to walk away from this with an experience filled with learning, growing, and making memories with amazing people that have the similar values and goals as me. It also gives me the chance to be an example for younger golfers that may have the same dreams.”
Throughout the week, the teens apply their character strengths and life skills learned from First Tee programs during the one-of-a-kind event where they are paired with a PGA TOUR Champions player and amateurs from the business world. Jeffrey and Cooper will compete for the Pro-Junior Team title. They will join 77 other teens from First Tee chapters across the country and – for the second year in a row – a participant from First Tee — Morocco. Participants were selected by a national panel of judges based on their personal growth and development through First Tee’s programs, as well as their playing ability.
The full junior field was revealed live on Golf Channel’s “Golf Today.” Several players and legends of the game helped surprise select participants with the news of their selection, including World Golf Hall of Fame Member Jack Nicklaus; PGA TOUR players Stewart Cink, Cameron Champ, and Austin Smotherman; PGA TOUR Champions player Ken Duke; and No. 1 APGA Collegiate Player and Duke University stand-out Quinn Riley.
“Congratulations to Jeffrey and Cooper who have been selected to play and represent First Tee — Central Coast on a national stage,” said Greg McLaughlin, First Tee CEO. “Their hard work and commitment to academic and personal growth through our program has secured this opportunity. Thank you to our partners − PURE Insurance, PGA TOUR Champions, Pebble Beach Resorts, Monterey Peninsula Foundation and Golf Channel − for their commitment to young people and helping us provide this opportunity to these deserving teens.”
This year’s field of PGA TOUR Champions players will feature World Golf Hall of Fame Members Bernhard Langer, Mark O’Meara, Vijay Singh, as well as three-time PURE Insurance Championship winner Kirk Triplett. Clint Eastwood serves as chairman of the PURE Insurance Championship.
Play will be conducted on Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course on Friday and Saturday. The final round will be contested solely at Pebble Beach Golf Links on Sunday, where 23 First Tee juniors will compete based on their 36-hole performance. The tournament will crown one male and one female First Tee Junior Champion on Sunday.
More than 1,000 teens from First Tee have played in the PURE Insurance Championship, experiencing the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet, play and be mentored by PGA TOUR Champions players and amateurs in the field.
“Supporting these incredible young men and women along with the great work of First Tee through this sponsorship is tremendously rewarding for our entire team,” said Katie Krum, Chief Marketing Officer at PURE Insurance. “I know firsthand the impact and value that participating in youth sports can have on one’s development, personally and professionally, so I am particularly proud to be part of an organization that lends support to such a worthy cause.”
First Tee is a youth development organization that teaches life skills and helps kids and teens build their strength of character through golf. The PURE Insurance Championship is one of several national opportunities provided by First Tee Headquarters to encourage and motivate participants as they progress through the program and toward higher education opportunities.
The junior field for 2022 PURE Insurance Championship can be viewed here.
For more information on the tournament, visit PUREInsuranceChampionship.com. To learn more about First Tee, visit FirstTee.org.
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About First Tee —Central Coast
First Tee — Central Coast is one of 150 First Tee chapters across the U.S. and select international locations. Its mission is to impact the lives of young people by providing educational programs that build character and instill life-enhancing values through the game of golf. First Tee — Central Coast reaches approximately 26,000 kids and teens annually through programs delivered at 14 program locations, 54 schools and 12 youth centers. Learn more at www.firstteecentralcoast.org.
About Monterey Peninsula Foundation
Monterey Peninsula Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization which donates funds from the proceeds of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on the PGA TOUR and the PURE Insurance Championship Impacting the First Tee, a PGA TOUR Champions tournament. The Foundation focuses on improving the quality of life in Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito counties.
www.pureinsurancechampionship.com
About PURE Insurance
Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange (PURE) Insurance is a property and casualty insurance company designed exclusively for successful, responsible families. We opened for business more than 15 years ago with the goal of offering something different in the insurance space: a company focused on doing what’s right for our membership (policyholders), one that promotes transparency and alignment of interests, and delivers greater value.
Today, after growing at least 15% in each year since we began, we are the most awarded insurer in our category, offer coverage in all 50 states that includes high value homeowners, automobile, collections, watercraft, personal excess liability, fraud & cyber and flood to a membership of more than 100,000 individuals and families.
Pureinsurance.com | 888.813.7873
About PGA TOUR Champions
PGA TOUR Champions is a membership organization of professional golfers age 50 and older, including 34 members of the World Golf Hall of Fame. The Tour’s mission 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 and generate significant charitable and economic impact in tournament communities. Follow PGA TOUR Champions online at PGATOUR.com, at facebook.com/PGATOURChampions, on Twitter @ChampionsTour and on Instagram @pgatourchampions.
All events are televised in the United States, with most receiving complete coverage on Golf Channel, the exclusive cable-television partner of PGA TOUR Champions. Tournament programming is available via 25+ TV linear partners in 145+ countries and territories, with 25 channels carrying long-form and/or highlights coverage, and 200+ hours of live coverage distributed in 135+ countries and territories. Programming is also available via the OTT platform GOLFTV powered by PGA TOUR in every market outside of the United States, excluding China and Korea, with live coverage distributed in 130+ countries and territories.