Washington, DC (September 16, 2024) – First Tee and PGA TOUR Champions have announced that Samantha Nguyen will represent First Tee-Greater Washington DC at the 2024 PURE Insurance Championship Impacting First Tee. The event will bring teens from First Tee chapters to Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course for the PGA TOUR Champions tournament, Sept. 17-22. The annual event, hosted by the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, is televised nationally on Golf Channel.
Samantha, 16, or “Sammi” as her family and friends refer to her, is a junior at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, VA and has been a First Tee participant for nine years. She plays on her high school golf team where she’s been a team captain the past two seasons and also competes in US Kids Golf, Middle Atlantic PGA Section and Peggy Kirk Bell Golf Tour tournaments. In addition to playing golf, Sammi is also involved with STEM Exploration for Youth Club, LPGA*USGA/First Tee-GWDC Girls Golf and is part of both the National Honors Society and the National Art Honors Society.
“We’re very proud of Sammi’s accomplishments both on and off the golf course,” said Clint Sanchez, Executive Director of First Tee-Greater Washington DC. “She’s following in her sister Joey’s footsteps by competing in the PURE Insurance Championship and making her own positive impact on our chapter, participants and families.”
Sammi’s sister, Josephine or “Joey”, competed in the 2022 PURE Insurance Championship and was a First Tee-Greater Washington DC participant for 10 years.
Sammi has also taken the reins as president of G.I.R.Ls Club (Girls in Roles of Leadership), which is the organization that Joey founded a few years ago. The group hosts a professional women’s leadership conference each year and develops several different service projects as well.
“I am really excited about competing at the PURE Insurance Championship. I watched my sister have a great time at the event, playing with the Pros at such nice golf courses and making new friends. It’s something that I knew I wanted to strive for as well,” said Sammi. “I am grateful for the impact First Tee has had on my life and the lasting lessons it has instilled in me.”
Sammi will showcase the skills and values she learned at First Tee during a week of competition and mentorship, during which they’ll be paired with a PGA TOUR Champions pro and amateurs from the business world. She will join 80 total teens from First Tee chapters across the country and – for the fourth 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.”
This year’s field of PGA TOUR Champions players will feature legends including Ernie Els and Vijay Singh, as well as three-time PURE Insurance Championship winner Kirk Triplett and Thongchai Jaidee, who will defend his title. Last year, Diego DeJesus from First Tee-Greater Washington DC participated in the PURE Insurance Championship and was paired with Jaidee and had a wonderful experience playing with the eventual champion. 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 24 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.
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 2024 PURE Insurance Championshipcan 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 — Greater Washington DC
First Tee — Greater Washington DC 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 — GWDC reaches kids and teens through programs delivered at 22 program locations, 260 schools and several youth centers. Learn more at www.firstteedc.org.
About Monterey Peninsula Foundation
Surpassing nearly $250 million in total donations, Monterey Peninsula Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization that donates funds from the proceeds of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on the PGA TOUR and the PURE Insurance Championship Impacting First Tee at Pebble Beach, a PGA TOUR Champions tournament. The Foundation focuses on improving the quality of life in Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito Counties.
www.montereypeninsulafoundation.org
www.pureinsurancechampionship.org
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 nearly 20 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, with a membership of more than 100,000 individuals and families, 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. 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.
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