The First Tee of Tampa Bay, a program of the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA, is sending Terese Romeo to compete in the 2013 Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, an official Champions Tour event that will be held September 27-29 and televised internationally on the GOLF CHANNEL.
16-year-old Romeo will join 80 other participants from The First Tee chapters for the event, which is in its 10th year. Romeo was selected by a national panel of judges who evaluated playing ability and comprehension of the life skills and character education learned through their involvement with The First Tee. Almost 150 applications were submitted.
Romeo has been a participant of The First Tee of Tampa Bay for seven years. The teen is a rising junior at Freedom High School, where she helped her golf team win regionals, despite a serious gymnastics injury that forced her to play with just one hand. Romeo was selected to appear on the GOLF CHANNEL to represent The First Tee after persevering through two wrist surgeries in the past year. Off the course, Romeo likes to run and served as co-captain for a Relay for Life of New Tampa team and led a fundraising team for the Hydrocephalus Walk.
Romeo and the other juniors will be teamed with 81 Champions Tour players and 162 amateurs as they compete for the pro-junior title at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Del Monte Golf Course. Play will be conducted on Pebble Beach Golf Links and Del Monte Golf Course on Friday and Saturday, and final round will be played on Pebble Beach on Sunday.
“We are thrilled Terese has been selected to represent The First Tee of Tampa Bay at Pebble Beach,” says Jeff Leonard, program director for The First Tee of Tampa Bay. “Terese is a great example of all for which The First Tee stands. All the hard work and perseverance she has shown over the past couple years has been rightly recognized. It is fantastic to see her rewarded with this selection to play in The First Tee’s premier event.”
“This is such an honor to be selected to play in the Nature Valley First Tee Open with Senior PGA professionals and other The First Tee Juniors from around the world,” says Romeo.