80 First Tee Juniors Head to Pebble Beach for PURE Championship

The PURE Insurance Championship begins Friday at Pebble Beach Golf Links, pairing 80 First Tee juniors with 80 PGA Tour Champions professionals and 160 amateurs in a 54-hole best-ball pro-junior event. The 80 teens come from 52 First Tee chapters across the country, and most will be playing Pebble Beach for the first time.

Who qualifies for the field?

Selection is not based on scoring alone. Each participant must show growth against First Tee's five core commitments: pursuing goals, growing through challenges, collaborating with others, building a positive self-identity and using good judgment. As a group, this year's 80 participants have averaged 7.5 years in the First Tee program, 3.8 years of community service and 60 hours of volunteer work, with a collective 3.8 GPA.

Two players earned their spots through performance rather than selection, finishing in the top five at the First Tee National Championship at the University of North Carolina's Finley Golf Club in June. Nakul Shrivastava of First Tee – Tri-Valley won the boys' division there, while Sadie Goodman of First Tee – Central Florida finished fourth in the girls' division — the highest finish among girls who had not previously played in the PURE Insurance Championship, which earned her this week's berth.

How does the tournament format work?

The first two rounds are split between Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill on Friday and Saturday. After 36 holes, the field is cut to the top 24 juniors, who return to Pebble Beach on Sunday for the final round and a chance at the boys' or girls' division title.

The field mixes decades of PGA Tour Champions experience with juniors who have spent years building both their games and their communities.

Reigning girls' champion Margaret Kerr is back in the field this week before she begins her college career at West Texas A&M University next fall.