ST. AUGUSTINE, FL – The First Tee today announced three sites that will play host to Regional Open Qualifiers for the third annual Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, an official Champions Tour tournament scheduled Sept. 1-3, 2006 at Pebble Beach Golf Links. The regional qualifiers will determine 30 of the 78 junior spots (approximately 10 per site) in the Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach field. Each qualifier is a single day, 18-hole stroke-play competition open to boys and girls, ages 13-18 and not enrolled in college, with a maximum USGA handicap of 7 or 13 respectively.
The qualifier sites are as follows:
East Coast Regional Open Qualifier
June 21 – Independence Golf Club – Midlothian, VA
Midwest Regional Open Qualifier
June 28 – Jimmie Austin University of Oklahoma Golf Course – Norman, OK
West Coast Regional Open Qualifier
July 12 – Poppy Ridge Golf Course – Livermore, CA (Northern California)
"The Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach has become a stage for showcasing the talent and character of the young people who participate at our facilities worldwide," said Joe Louis Barrow, Jr., executive director of The First Tee and senior vice president of the World Golf Foundation. "We look forward to another successful year and are grateful for the continued support of Wal-Mart, the Champions Tour and the Monterey Peninsula Foundation."
The South Central Section of the PGA of America, Virginia State Golf Association and Northern California Golf Association were instrumental in organizing the Regional Open Qualifiers and will continue their involvement throughout the summer. In addition, The First Tee will work with local Wal-Mart Stores and their associates in each qualifier location to help coordinate activities and fund-raisers.
Forty remaining junior spots in the Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach field will be determined by The First Tee Participant Selection Process, which will take place July 22-26 at Kansas State University and Colbert Hills Golf Course. The Monterey Peninsula Foundation, the tournament host organization, will distribute eight exemptions.
Each team in the Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach will include two amateurs, one junior golfer and a Champions Tour player. The tournament will be televised nationally on The Golf Channel and NBC for the third straight year.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., the Champions Tour and the Monterey Peninsula Foundation have partnered with The First Tee to promote The First Tee Life Skills Experienceâ?¢, which gives young people of all backgrounds an opportunity to develop life-enhancing values such as honesty, responsibility and sportsmanship, through golf and character education. Visit www.thefirsttee.org to download an application and learn more about the Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach.
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 opened over 250 golf-learning facilities in 44 states and five international locations, and has introduced the game of golf and its values to over 650,000 participants.
About Wal-Mart Stores:
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates Wal-Mart Stores, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and SAM’S CLUB locations in the United States. The company also operates in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, México, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, South Korea and the United Kingdom. The company’s securities are listed on the New York and Pacific stock exchanges under the symbol WMT. More information about Wal-Mart can be found by visiting www.walmartfacts.com. Online merchandise sales are available at www.walmart.com.
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 29 official events offering a minimum of $52.65 million in prize money in 2006 and its highest average purse ever of $1.82 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. On October 30, 2005 the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour and their tournaments announced they had reached the $1 billion milestone in charitable donations dating back to the first recorded donation in 1938. The commissioner of the PGA TOUR is Tim Finchem. Rick George is president of the Champions Tour. TOUR headquarters is in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The web site address is PGATOUR.com.
About the Monterey Peninsula Foundation:
In 1937, Bing Crosby invited a group of friends to get together for some golf, a clambake and, most importantly, to raise money for local charities. Since that time, the tournament, now known as the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, has become one of the most popular and internationally recognized stops on the PGA TOUR and has raised over $55 million for nonprofit organizations in Monterey County and surrounding communities. The Monterey Peninsula Foundation also conducts the Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach on the Champions Tour with proceeds dedicated to The First Tee. Visit www.montereypeninsulafoundation.org for more information.
Contact:
Steve Gerrish
The First Tee
(904) 940-4314
