Local Teens Selected to Play in Official PGA TOUR Champions Event
Katelyn Harris, Sienna Lyford, Ryan Parry
Hailey Rietz & Emma Sand
are heading to Pebble Beach for PURE Insurance Championship
The First Tee of Greater Sacramento is sending Katelyn Harris, Sienna Lyford, Ryan Parry, Hailey Rietz & Emma Sand to compete in the 2017 PURE Insurance Championship, an official PGA TOUR Champions event to be contested at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach, Calif., the week of September 19-24, 2017. The tournament, which is hosted by the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, will be televised internationally on Golf Channel.
Harris, Lyford, Parry, Rietz & Sand will join 76 other participants from The First Tee chapters, selected by a national panel of judges. Participants were selected based on playing ability and comprehension of the life skills and core values learned through their involvement with The First Tee. The juniors will be teamed with 81 PGA TOUR Champions players and 162 amateurs as they compete for the pro-junior title at Pebble Beach and Poppy Hills. As of June 28, players currently committed to compete in the PURE Insurance Championship include World Golf Hall of Fame members Tom Watson and Colin Montgomerie, as well as three-time tournament winner Jeff Sluman and defending champion Paul Broadhurst.
Katelyn is a junior at Antelope High School and has been a member of The First Tee of Greater Sacramento since she was six years old. Katelyn is a member of our Junior Life Skills Coaching Committee and a member of the Ace Life Skills class. She has been the #1 seeded golfer on her varsity girl’s golf team the past two years, making All-Conference. In her studies, Katelyn earned a 3.85 GPA with all honors. In addition to golf, she is involved with the dance program at school. She loves to volunteer with the Morton Foundation and the California Eagles.
Sienna is a senior at Granite Bay High School, where she currently maintains a 4.3 GPA. She has been a member of The First Tee of Greater Sacramento since 2011. After school, she volunteers with the junior program at Diamond Oaks Golf Course in Roseville, CA, the same program where she first began playing golf seven years ago. She has been playing piano since she was five years old, and in her limited free time, she studies piano under the California Certificate of Merit curriculum and testing program.
Ryan is going into his junior year at Jesuit High School. He joined The First Tee of Greater Sacramento in 2007 and started playing competitively in 2014. He has played a variety of sports, including soccer, baseball, basketball, football, and swimming. For the past year and a half, Ryan has taught and coached junior golfers at Haggin Oaks in The First Tee program. He also volunteers with California Eagles and Angels for Hearts, both of which are programs for people with disabilities learning how to golf. He participates in The First Tee Eagle Life Skills classes and is a member of our Junior Life Skills Coaching Committee. Ryan maintains a 4.05 GPA and has achieved All League recognition in Golf. 
Hailey is a junior at Granite Bay High School, has been a member of The First Tee of Greater Sacramento since 2010. She has always enjoyed playing sports and fell in love with golf at a summer camp. Hailey is a member of our junior Life Skills Coaching Committe, and also volunteers at her local course’s junior golf camps. She maintains a 4.00 GPA and serves as Granite Bay High School’s American Red Cross chapter treasurer. As a member of her high school team, Hailey is a two time SFL League Top 10 MVP and CIFSJS 2016-2017 Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Overall Champion.
Emma is a senior at Oak Ridge High School in El Dorado Hills. She has a 4.2 GPA and has been a member of The First Tee of Greater Sacramento for the last 9 years. She volunteers at U.S. Kids Golf tournaments and enjoys handing out medals and cheering on all the younger juniors. She was awarded first-team all league for her high school golf team as a freshman, Sophomore and Junior. Golf has always been important to Emma, but her education and music have also been a priority. She is a member of the National Honor Society and enjoys playing clarinet and piano as well.