First Tee and PGA TOUR Champions announced today Marcus Leonard Jr. and Bernardo Little Jr. will represent First Tee — Metro Atlanta when they compete in the 2022 PURE Insurance Championship Impacting First Tee. The event, in its 19th year, will bring teens from First Tee chapters to Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course for the PGA TOUR Champions tournament, Sept. 20-25. The annual event, hosted by the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, is televised nationally on Golf Channel.

Marcus Leonard Jr. is a rising senior at Drew Charter School. Marcus has been involved with First Tee — Metro Atlanta for 8 years. Marcus enjoys volunteering at his church and in the community, as well as mentoring younger students through the Book Buddies program at Drew Charter school.

Bernardo Little Jr. is a rising senior at Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School. Bernardo has been a First Tee participant since he was 8 years old. In addition to his participation with First Tee, Bernardo is an officer in the Cristo Rey Atlanta Toastmasters Gavel Club and serves as a news anchor for the school’s CRA News.

Throughout the week, the teens apply their character strengths and life skills learned from First Tee programs during the one-of-a-kind event where they are paired with a PGA TOUR Champions player and amateurs from the business world. Marcus and BJ will compete for the Pro-Junior Team title. They will join 77 other teens from First Tee chapters across the country and – for the second 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.” Several players and legends of the game helped surprise select participants with the news of their selection, including World Golf Hall of Fame Member Jack Nicklaus; PGA TOUR players Stewart Cink, Cameron Champ, and Austin Smotherman; PGA TOUR Champions player Ken Duke; and No. 1 APGA Collegiate Player and Duke University stand-out Quinn Riley.

“Congratulations to Marcus and BJ who have been selected to play and represent First Tee — Metro Atlanta on a national stage,” said Greg McLaughlin, First Tee CEO. “Their hard work and commitment to academic and personal growth through our program has secured this opportunity. Thank you to our partners − PURE Insurance, PGA TOUR Champions, Pebble Beach Resorts, Monterey Peninsula Foundation and Golf Channel − for their commitment to young people and helping us provide this opportunity to these deserving teens.”

This year’s field of PGA TOUR Champions players will feature World Golf Hall of Fame Members Bernhard Langer, Mark O’Meara, Vijay Singh, as well as three-time PURE Insurance Championship winner Kirk Triplett. 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 23 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.

“Supporting these incredible young men and women along with the great work of First Tee through this sponsorship is tremendously rewarding for our entire team,” said Katie Krum, Chief Marketing Officer at PURE Insurance. “I know firsthand the impact and value that participating in youth sports can have on one’s development, personally and professionally, so I am particularly proud to be part of an organization that lends support to such a worthy cause.”

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 2022 PURE Insurance Championship can 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 — Metro Atlanta
First Tee — Metro Atlanta 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 — Metro Atlanta reaches kids and teens through programs delivered at 6 program locations, 248 schools and 38 youth centers. Learn more at www.firstteeatlanta.org.

About Monterey Peninsula Foundation
Monterey Peninsula Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization which donates funds from the proceeds of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on the PGA TOUR and the PURE Insurance Championship Impacting the First Tee, a PGA TOUR Champions tournament. The Foundation focuses on improving the quality of life in Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito counties.
www.attpbgolf.com
www.pureinsurancechampionship.com

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 more than 15 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, after growing at least 15% in each year since we began, 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 to a membership of more than 100,000 individuals and families.

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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