Tag: PURE Insurance

Fall 2025 National Opportunity Update

(Fall 2025 National Opportunity Update – Published 10/03/25) For First Tee – Silicon Valley, the Fall has many unique and impactful opportunities for high school participants who go above and beyond. Between the Innovators Forum, the Drive Your Future Academy and the PURE Insurance Championship, hardworking FTSV participants will represent their chapter on the national stage. If you are interested in learning more about the National Opportunities available, please visit our website or email Coach Phoenix – [email protected].

Innovators Forum (October 2-5, 2025, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL):

Each year, a group of exceptional First Tee teens gather at the First Tee Innovators Forum, where they develop a meaningful service project to bring home to their community. Projects focus on education, health, human rights or environmental sustainability. By bringing together passionate participants from across the chapter network, the Innovators Forum provides a distinctive enrichment experience, engaging teens who share a similar desire for learning and generating changes in their communities.  

This year, two outstanding FTSV participants will be attending this event. Sahara Huchim Velazquez and Nicolas Hernandez Lopez have been in the program for years and both volunteer as junior coaches. Have a great time Sahara and Nicolas!

PURE Insurance Championship Impacting First Tee (September 16-21, 2025, Pebble Beach, CA):

For more than 20 years, the PURE Insurance Championship has provided First Tee participants with the unique opportunity to showcase the skills and values they’ve gained through the program. Held at the iconic Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course, the tournament pairs 80 standout teens from First Tee Chapters nationwide with PGA TOUR Champions players and amateurs from the business community. The annual event was broadcast internationally on Golf Channel. 

This year, FTSV participants Alexis Chu, Brian Yu and Walton Li attended this event and were phenomenal representatives of our chapter. Everyone played very well, including a 6th place finish for Alexis and 3rd place finish for Brian. More importantly, all players conducted themselves with respect and kindness, building lasting relationships while playing golf in one of the most beautiful places on earth. Fantastic work!

Drive Your Future Academy (November 6-10, 2025, Ponte Vedra, FL):

The First Tee Drive Your Future Academy presented by John Deere is a female empowerment event recognizing young women who are motivated to influence positive impact at their chapters, schools and communities. The five-day academy experience focuses on the importance of building a strong network and how to approach mentorship opportunities, navigating post-graduation and career planning, and appreciating the value/impact of volunteerism. 

Jennifer Barrientos and Alexis Chu were selected to attend the upcoming 2025 Drive Your Future Academy. Jennifer has been a participant for over 7 years, is a dedicated junior coach, and is a key member of the FTSV junior council. Alexis is also a dedicated participant, demonstrating her strong life skills on and off the course, including just recently at the PURE Insurance Championship. Enjoy the week!

PURE Insurance Championship Impacting First Tee

(PURE Insurance Championship Impacting First Tee – Published 10/03/25) FTSV participants, Alexis Chu, Brian Yu and Walton Li were selected and competed in the PURE Insurance Championship Impacting First Tee at historic Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course. Everyone played very well, including a 4th place finish for Alexis and 3rd place finish for Brian. More importantly, all players conducted themselves with respect and kindness, building lasting relationships while playing golf in one of the most beautiful places on earth. Fantastic work!

For more than 20 years, the PURE Insurance Championship has provided selected First Tee participants from around the country with the unique opportunity to showcase the skills and values they’ve gained through their respective First Tee Chapters. The tournament pairs 80 standout teens from First Tee Chapters nationwide with PGA TOUR Champions players and amateurs from the business community. The teens were selected by a national panel of judges who evaluated their essays, letters of recommendations, and golf resume. Throughout the week, our three participants competed in the prestigious tournament, got to eat meals with the professional golfers, and were able to network with their peers and tournament golfers. The annual event was broadcast internationally on Golf Channel and took place September 19th – 21st.

In addition to our participating teens, our chapter organized a field trip and brought 30 FTSV teen participants to cheer on Alexis, Walton, and Brian. Thanks to the generous grant by the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, our field trip teens rode to Monterey in style with a charter bus. While there, they enjoyed their time walking the course, watching the pro’s and supporting dedicated young First Tee players. They made sure to get autographs and soak in this unique experience.

Congratulations to all the athletes and thank you to the Monterey Peninsula Foundation for hosting First Tee – Silicon Valley!

FTSV Participants Field Trip to Pure Insurance Tournament

On Sunday, September 22nd, First Tee – Silicon Valley participants attended the PURE Insurance Championship to go walk Pebble Beach Golf Course in support of our very own Joey Jang.

For this trip, the generous Monterey Peninsula Foundation granted us funds to charter a bus to take 38 participants and 6 chaperones to show our support for Joey and the First Tee. The attending participants were invited based on how long they were in our program and how active they are in our golf opportunities. From taking multiple classes to being in our tournaments, these participants truly have a passion for the game of golf.

The main focus of this field trip is to validate their commitment to our program. By watching these selected First Tee tournament players, we hope this trip inspires our own participants to continue their golf journey with us at First Tee.

The PURE Insurance Championship is an opportunity for committed First Tee participants to be able to play with Professional and Pro-Amateur PGA players at one of the most recognized golf courses in the world- Pebble Beach. The process to get into this tournament requires an application process as well as a referral from your chapter, then the finalized entries are made by First Tee National.

Joey Jang, from Gilroy, was selected to represent our chapter with his partner- 95’ US Open Championship Winner, Corey Pavin. Joey has been part of FTSV since 2016 and has continued to grow as a person through our volunteering opportunities. He gives back on Saturday’s at Gavilan while also maintaining a student-athlete career at Christopher High School. Joey finished -5 on the weekend and ranked within the top 25 in the Tournament. We are beyond proud of how well Joey played and handled himself and will continue to support him as he continues his junior year at Christopher.

We would like to thank the coaches who volunteered as chaperones – Alex W., Nestor A., Amado V., Emma V., and James P. Without the 5 of you, we would not have been able to have this awesome trip. We also wanted to recognize the parents of the invited participants. Thank you for bringing the excited kids to us and trusting us with your children yet again.

We hope for another great event next year!

Published: 10-11-2024