Juniors take golf and life lessons from First Tee Open
By Vartan Kupelian, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent
Esther Rojas was having an issue with an over-the-top move.
"I wasn't exactly hitting the ball correctly," she said. "It was going kind of left."
Rojas, a 16-year-old from Turlock, a town just south of Modesto, Calif., did what any smart young golfer would do. She went in search of some help, and wasn't shy about finding it.
On the driving range at The First Tee Open, she saw a familiar figure.
"Mark O'Meara was in front of me," Rojas said.
O'Meara, the two-time major champion (1998 Masters and British Open) and a mainstay on the Champions Tour. Rojas figured there was no better way to solve her problem.
"I asked him if he would be able to look at my swing and see what I was doing wrong," said Rojas, who plays on the Turlock Christian High Boys' golf team. "He said, 'Sure.'
"He told me to change my backswing and showed me how to do it. I kept going over- the-top, going left, and he fixed it. Definitely, it was really cool. Ten, 15 minutes, he showed me what I needed to do. Then I hit balls to work on it."
Esther Rojas and her older sister, Kathleen, 17, who will be a freshman at San Jose State in the fall, were among the 78 young golfers from The First Tee program who competed at the Champions Tour's First Tee Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links and the Del Monte Golf Club last week.
It has become one of the most popular and positive events on the Champions Tour calendar for exactly the kind of things it brings to golf and the people who play it. It's about lessons learned in life and golf, from the swing tips of major champions to stories about college days at San Jose State.
From the Champions Tour professionals to the amateurs and The First Tee kids, it is an experience quite unlike any other.
"I can't put into words what it's like playing with the Champions Tour players," said Tim Bringard, 17, of Wilmington, N.C.
Bringard will be a senior at New Hanover High and has been playing competitive golf for 10 years. His Champions Tour partner was Don Pooley. High on the list of things Bringard discovered playing alongside Pooley was the importance of course management.
He watched Pooley put his ball in places "where it makes it easier to play golf," Bringard said.
"The most fun part was just playing Pebble Beach," Bringard said.
"People want to come out here their whole lives, playing the course that had the U.S. Open, and it's something we all got to do," said Bringard, who aspires to a career in the golf industry at some level. As of now, the focus is playing but he's also "looking past that ... into professional golf management so I can still have golf in my life."
Bringard, who discovered The First Tee at Wilmington Municipal Golf Course in 2003, picks No. 8 as his favorite hole at Pebble Beach.
"It's a challenge," he said. "You lay up on the drive, and then have a long shot over and across from the edge of the cliff."
The First Tee Open is a 54-hole golf event, the first of its kind, featuring 78 Champions Tour players and 78 junior golfers ages 15-18. In addition to the Champions Tour players and juniors, 156 amateurs complete the field. Ben Crenshaw and his young partner, Casie Cathrea, won the The First Tee portion of the pro-am. Jeff Sluman won the Champions Tour event for the third time in four years with a final-round 2-under 70.
For Alanna Lloyd of Fresno, the lessons learned included a bit of geography. She played with Peter Senior, the man from the land Down Under.
"It's been so much fun, he's such a nice guy," Lloyd said.
Lloyd, 16, has been playing golf for four years, having followed her father's footsteps on the golf course.
Focusing on Senior's approach to the game taught Lloyd important lessons.
"His demeanor, learn not to take the game too seriously, learn to have fun," Lloyd said. "Just to stay positive with the game and don't get down on yourself."
Lloyd's favorite part of golf is the short game, chipping and pitching. Watching Senior didn't help in her application of those elements.
"No, he was pretty much hitting greens all day," said Lloyd, who was in "awe" of the Pebble Beach and the majestic views it offers.
"I definitely have a better appreciation of how the Champions Tour players approach the game, how they work at it and compete. They have a passion for the game."
For Kathleen and Esther Rojas, golf is a family affair. Esther played with Wayne Levi.
"My Dad taught us the game," said Kathleen, who played with Mark Wiebe, a master with short irons in his hands and recent winner on the Champions Tour at Rock Barn.
"I learned so much. Del Monte is such a tight course. You need to be precise with irons, and he was spot-on. It seemed like he never had a putt of more than 10 feet. It was neat to play with a pro who just won a Champions Tour event."
There was another reason for the instant connection between Kathleen and Wiebe. She's going to San Jose State, as did Wiebe.
"I asked him a lot about San Jose State," she said. "I learned a lot of life lessons and I plan on asking him about golf lessons."
That's what The First Tee is all about, life and golf. And that's what the Champions Tour is all about, playing and excelling at the game of a lifetime. It's a perfect fit.
Champions Tour Insider Vartan Kupelian is a freelance contributor for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.
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