This weekend concluded the 13th playing of The Watson Challenge, a tournament designed to determine the best golfer in the Kansas City area. This year, the tournament was held at The Nicklaus Golf Club at Lionsgate. Traditionally, The Watson Challenge was held over the course of 54 holes, however, heavy rain on Sunday shortened the tournament to 36 holes.
Following the cancellation of the final round, Alex Springer was declared the winner of The 2019 Watson Challenge. Springer, a former UCM graduate and recently turned professional fired rounds of 68 and 68 to post a score of 8 under par. Springer had to beat out eight-time Major Champion and five-time Watson Challenge Champion Tom Watson, along with defending back-to-back Watson Challenge Champion Andy Spencer to claim his title.
Thank you to everyone who attended this event, The Nicklaus Golf Club at Lionsgate, and Tom Watson for his continued generosity in the Kansas City community. The First Tee is looking forward to another great Watson Challenge in 2020!
Nineteen years after turning pro, Chris Thompson finally has made it to the big leagues.
Thompson, 42, was one of 25 Web.com Tour golfers presented with PGA Tour cards for the 2018-19 season
A native of Independence, Thompson finished 20th on the final money list. A longtime member at Lawrence Country Club, Thompson resides in Lawrence with his wife, Jessica, and their son Henry, 10, and daughter Landry, 7.
Thompson first qualified for the Web.com Tour (then called Nationwide Tour) in 2007, but didn’t do well enough to retain his card. He finished on the wrong side of multiple close calls in an attempt to get back on tour, and then did well enough at this past Q school to gain exempt status for the first eight tournaments of the Web.com season. He earned enough money in those to set himself up for the full Web.com schedule.
During the gap between his two seasons on the Web.com tour, Thompson had to try to make his way into tournaments via Monday qualifiers, which was his path to his first PGA Tour event, the Byron Nelson in 2014.
Thompson’s late charge to a PGA Tour card included three consecutive finishes in the top four heading into the final tournament of the regular season.
“Confidence breeds confidence,” Thompson said of the best stretch of his career.
Have you been wondering when your participant’s last day of class is? With all of our weather cancellations our sites are on different schedules. Below is a list of when each class per site will end. If you have any questions please contact Jonathan at [email protected].
The First Tee of Greater Kansas City is sending Colby Unruh to compete in the 2018 PURE Insurance Championship Impacting The First Tee, an official PGA TOUR Champions event to be contested at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach, California, September 24-30. The tournament, which is hosted by the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, will be televised internationally on Golf Channel September 28-30.
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. Unruh will be competing for the pro-junior title. He will join 80 other participants from The First Tee chapters, selected by a national panel of judges. The participants, which represent 22 states, were selected based on playing ability and application of the Nine Core Values and life skills learned through their involvement with The First Tee’s programs. The junior field was announced this morning on Golf Channel’s Morning Drive. The show included surprises from PGA TOUR winner Jason Gore, Web.com Tour member Cameron Champ, Arizona State football coach Herm Edwards, Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais and Golf Channel’s Charlie Rymer.
“We are proud to be a part of such a prestigious event that supports so many deserving young men and women from The First Tee throughout the country,” said Katherine Frattarola, Chief Marketing Officer of the PURE Group of Insurance Companies. “They are what make this tournament so special, and it’s humbling to be a part of something that has such a profound impact on their lives both on and off the course.”
“We are proud of the junior golfers selected to play at this year’s PURE Insurance Championship,” said Keith Dawkins, Chief Executive Officer of The First Tee. “These 81 teens, and the event, embody The First Tee’s beliefs around the importance of fan engagement, diversity and inclusion and having a sense of civic responsibility that is expressed through our Nine Core Values.”
As of July 11, players committed to compete in the PURE Insurance Championship include defending champion and World Golf Hall of Fame member Bernhard Langer, as well as fellow World Golf Hall of Fame members Colin Montgomerie, Mark O’Meara and Sandy Lyle. Players have until Friday, September 21 to commit, with additional commitments to be announced in the coming months.
Colby will be a senior at Christ Preparatory Academy, and has been extremely involved in The First Tee of Greater Kansas City. Colby has recently reached ACE level status, and is constantly striving to improve his game. Unruh also spends time volunteering for The First Tee of Greater Kansas City as a standard bearer during The Watson Challenge. Colby is thrilled to see his hard work throughout the offseason paying off today. The First Tee of Greater Kansas City is pleased to have Colby as a representative in this prestigious event.
Executive Director of The First Tee of Greater Kansas City, Brigette Chirpich has said, “I am so proud of Colby. He made the Pure Championship his goal, part of his goal ladder, and worked hard to improve his skills so he could be eligible for this prestigious field. I know he will represent Greater Kansas City well in September. Colby is a wonderful example of how our coaches mentor our kids to be good golfers and better people.”
Good luck Colby!
Julia Stopperan from The First Tee of Greater Kansas City was selected to attend The First Tee National Par-3 Championship held at The Kanawha Club in Richmond, Va., from June 12–17. Stopperan was one of 32 teen participants—16 boys and 16 girls—from The First Tee selected to play in the 36-hole individual stroke play competition. In addition to the golf experience, kids participated in fun activities that incorporate The First Tee’s Nine Core Values, and other life skills learned through its programs and the game.
Teens also experienced dorm living during their stay on campus at the University of Richmond. Julia Stopperan, a recent graduate of Shawnee Mission East High School, has been involved in The First Tee for ten years as a player and coach. With a 4.53 GPA, Stopperan became a Kansas Honors Scholar and AP Scholar. On the golf course, Julia and her teammates won the 2015 State Championship, and were runners-up twice. Julia has shown that she is always willing to help the community, as she has planned two charity color runs, volunteers at St. Luke’s hospital, and helps with the Johnson Country Christmas Bureau. Stopperan was selected for The First Tee National Par-3 Championship through a national application process. Applicants that met the participation criteria were reviewed by a national committee that scored based on essays, involvement with The First Tee and letters of recommendation.
Julia’s experience at The First Tee National Par-3 Championship was second to none. According to Stopperan, “It was a super fun experience! I met a lot of cool people from all over the country and got to play golf at some really pretty places.” Stopperan finished the tournament in 13th place in her division.
Ava Fitzgerald, 14, from The First Tee of Greater Kansas City has been selected to attend the Joe Louis Barrow, Jr. Life Skills and Leadership Academy in East Lansing, Mich. July 25–July 31. Fitzgerald will join more than 90 junior golfers from The First Tee, ages 14–17, to participate in this national event.
The Academy provides participants golf and leadership instruction that incorporate The First Tee’s Nine Core Values. During the week-long event, participants will have the opportunity to develop and hone skills to become leaders in their chapters, schools and communities while experiencing championship golf, career exploration and dorm living.
During the week, Fitzgerald will learn from and interact with the top coaches in The First Tee network and meet a variety of teens from around the country.
Ava, 14, is an ideal representative for The First Tee of Greater Kansas City. Throughout her four years in the chapter, Ava has grown a love and passion for the game of golf, as she attends weekly classes throughout the summer and fall. She applies the life skills she has learned from The First Tee of Greater Kansas City on and off of the golf course. Ava has maintained a 3.8 GPA, participates on the track and dance team, and is a two-time recipient of the Presidential Silver Award for over 75 hours of community service. The First Tee of Greater Kansas City is honored to have Ava Fitzgerald as a representative at this fantastic event.
The Joe Louis Barrow, Jr. Life Skills and Leadership Academy is focused on recognizing and rewarding exceptional teen participants in The First Tee for their accomplishments while enhancing skills that will help on and off the golf course.
Good luck Ava!
Registration is now open for 2018 Fall Classes! The First Tee Life Skills Experience is one of the unique features that differentiates The First Tee from other youth initiatives and junior golf programs. It helps young people develop character by focusing on Nine Core Values: honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy and judgment. Register today to reserve your spot in our fall programming.
This past weekend, 48 of Kansas City’s best golfers, including 8-time major champion Tom Watson, competed at Shadow Glen Golf Club in The Watson Challenge. After winning the 2017 Watson Challenge by 7 shots at Milburn CC, Andy Spencer sought to become the first back-to-back winner since Tom Watson, when he won the tournament four consecutive years form 2008-2011.
Watson finished the first round with a share of the lead after an impressive 5 under par, 67. However after a second round 72, Watson found himself 3 shots back of last year’s winner, Kansas University’s Andy Spencer. Spencer secured his second straight Watson Challenge victory with a final round 72. Watson finished one stroke behind after a respectable final round 70.
Thank you to everyone who attended this event, Shadow Glen Golf Club for hosting, and Tom Watson for his continued generosity in the Kansas City community. We are looking forward to another great Watson Challenge in 2019!
We are very excited too offer our second season of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Summer Camp! Last year, we conducted fun and engaging STEM experiences and created a hands-on learning opportunity for our participants. This year, we are conducting a wide array of experiments and learning how we can apply STEM concepts to the game of golf. The participants will be able to apply the lessons and skills we discuss during STEM Camp to their future golf endeavors. Some of the things on our agenda to tackle this year are as follows:
Golf Course Mapping Day
Our kids will learn about topography and how it relates to golf
We will talk about elevation changes and geometric scaling so that we can attempt creating a course map of The Hill Course
We will also discuss the idea of contour lines which help us make contour intervals.
Lastly, we will go over measuring distances on the course.
The combination of these things will allow us to create course maps, similar to the ones found in golf course yardage books and used by professional golfers and their caddies.
Golf Course Maintenance Day
Our kids will learn about what goes into maintaining and caring for a golf course
We will use and interact with some of the tools that superintendents use in order to keep our golf courses in great shape
We will talk about rolling resistance and how that affects the speed that our putts
The kids will also get to see what a Stimp Meter does and how it measures green speed as well as do an experiment about variables affecting green speed
Simulator Day
We will use an indoor simulator to talk about the various factors that relate to ball flight
We will introduce side angle and side spin as it relates to the golf swing
We will use mathematics to calculate various golf swing measurements such as the Smash Factor
COR (Coefficient of Restitution) Day
We will talk about the transfer of kinetic energy and the cause and effect relationship between our swing and the golf ball
We will do an experiment with golf ball temperatures to test how outside conditions can affect the flight of our golf ball and by how much they are affected.
We will also continue our conversation about ball spin and ball flight from the simulator day and introduce new concepts such as the Magnus effect which details why a ball can change trajectory mid-flight.
As you can see, we have a lot to cover in the four days of the STEM camp. We have taken some of the successes of STEM camp last year and combined them with some new ideas to provide a unique experience for the kids who sign up! We are so excited to bring back STEM camp for the Summer of 2018!
Nathan Surrell just started coaching with us this year on a volunteer basis. He has a daughter who is currently enrolled in The First Tee out at Heart of America. We are so proud to have Nathan out here helping us coach-it is clear that he has a love for the game and enjoys helping other kids make the most out of their lessons. Nathan loves the game of golf so much that he even started a business around his passion for the game. He started a company called Surrell Putters which is a custom-made wood putter business. When his daughter started taking The First Tee classes, Nathan also rekindled his own interest in the game. He started making a putter for his dad as a Father’s Day present which launched the beginning of a full blown custom wooden putter operation! We at Heart of America have been able to see some of the putters that he brings by and they are truly awesome and unique. It is so nice for us to have Nathan as a coach because his story speaks volumes about what we are trying to teach our kids. He followed his passion and created something one-of-a-kind out of it.
Because of Nathan’s involvement in the golf world, his niece has also taken up the sport. Nathan says that he enjoys his daughter and niece being able to learn the game and connect with others their age. He is glad to be a part of our coaching staff because he believes that instilling the values that The First Tee teaches along with the golf skill development is an experience that more kids should have. We can say that we are very glad to have him as part of our team as well! If you ever see Coach Nathan around, ask him to show you one of his putters! They are truly awesome works of art!
The First Tee of Greater Kansas City is so lucky to have a wonderful group of coaches so dedicated to the program! This past weekend The First Tee of Greater Kansas City had the pleasure of hosting 40 coaches from across The First Tee network. At The First Tee coach trainings coaches take a deeper look at impacting the lives of young people through golf. They learn new games, ways to create a mastery driven experience, and ideas to help them teach The First Tee curriculum by seamless delivery. With the addition of seven new trained coaches we look forward to expanding the reach of young people we serve in Kansas City.
As we continue to grow in our efforts to reach as many young people as possible in the greater Kansas City area we are always looking to expand on the amount of coaches in our database. To qualify as a coach for The First Tee golf ability does not matter, but rather your passion for the game, ability to engage young people, and learned knowledge of The First Tee curriculum through training, observation, and class experience. If you have interest in becoming a coach please email [email protected]
