Our Participant, Calton, Shares His Experience From the 2018 PURE Insurance Championship Impacting The First Tee

The First Tee of Silicon Valley is so proud of Calton Kong, our participant who competed in the 2018 PURE Insurance Championship Impacting The First Tee at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Poppy Hills Golf Course, September 24-30. Calton summarized his experience by saying, “The experience introduced me to many people and I was able to learn a lot from the pros and amateurs that I played with. It was interesting to learn that Freddy Couples likes real estate. The course was extraordinary! Learning how to play on a championship course, I can definitely carry on to the future. Getting an eagle on hole two at Pebble was definitely a highlight.” The PURE Insurance Championship is the only event of its kind in which 81 junior golfers from The First Tee are teamed with 81 PGA TOUR Champions players and 162 amateurs during an official PGA TOUR Champions tournament. They were selected by a national panel of judges based on their playing ability and their application of the Nine Core Values and Life Skills learned through their involvement with The First Tee’s programs. TFTSV Coach Matt & Coach Chris verified Calton’s development over his 8 years in our program. They said, “Calton has learned meeting & greeting skills and is able to articulate self-management skills like STAR (Stop-Think-Anticipate-Respond) to help him overcome stressful social situations and be confident when meeting new friends and speaking with adults. He has great self-awareness and knows how he can balance his healthy mind with body and how they are interconnected. Calton is confident in his demeanor and thoughtful in his responses. He has demonstrated he is comfortable interacting with adults in high pressure situations and we knew he would be a great TFTSV representative.”