In early August, 12 youngsters representing The First Tee of Massachusetts competed in The Barclays Tri-Match at The Country Club in Brookline. Those golfers were joined by teams from The First Tee chapters of Metropolitan New York and Ireland.
The Barclays Cup teams consisted of eight boys and four girls between the ages of 12 and 17 years of age from The First Tee facilities within the region. Representatives of The First Tee of Massachusetts were selected from its four satellite facilities in Norton, Springfield, Lynnfield and Hyannis.
This special event was launched in 2007 in order to give participants in The First Tee program the opportunity to compete and meet their peers from other chapters. The First Tee uses the game of golf to promote character-development and life-enhancing values to inner-city children at learning facilities located throughout the United States and in five other countries.
In this year's contest, the New York First Tee squad defeated the Massachusetts First Tee by a score of 1,366 to 937. The team from Ireland, which was making their Barclays Cup debut, finished in third place with 888 points.
The teams played three nine-hole rounds with a different format each round including individual stroke play, two-man best ball and two-man alternate shot. During the course of each round, players were asked "life skill aptitude questions" in order to earn additional points towards their team's score.
The First Tee uses the game of golf to promote character-development and life-enhancing values to inner-city children at learning facilities located throughout the United States and in five other countries.
"With four locations in Massachusetts, our youth development program is offering thousands youngsters an enriching golf and Life Skills experience," said Joe McCabe, executive director of the Massachusetts Chapter. "The vision of The First Tee has come full circle here in the Bay State. Many of our youngsters are now graduating on to college and other opportunities with the help of our Chapter. These are very exciting times."
To see photos from the event, click here!
Congratultions to the team members from the Massachusetts Chapter:
John Beadle, 12 – North Attleboro, MA
Connor Johnson, 14 – Taunton, MA
Cora Bernier, 13 – Taunton, MA
Elizabeth LaVerghetta, 14 – Norton, MA
Trevor Bernier, 15 – Taunton, MA
Trenton Mitchell, 17 – Springfield, MA
Max Cantin, 14 – Norton, MA
Dana O'Connor, 12 – Long Meadow, MA
Ryan Consentino, 14 – Norton, MA
Ricardo Oliveira, 17 – Taunton, MA
Josh Greenspan, 16 – Belmont, MA
Rachel Pyne, 14 – Foxboro, MA
