Girls’ golf tourney in Rye, N.H., based on more than low scores

The majority of the 14- to 17-year-olds in the WalMart Pebble Beach First Tee Open qualifier play to a scratch handicap. But for the 22 golfers who advance to the Champions Tour Pebble Beach Open on Labor Day weekend, playing with the likes of Jay Haas, Tom Kite, Craig Stadler, and Fuzzy Zoeller, low score will not be the determining factor.

“That’s what makes this tournament unique,’’ said Cara Rogers, executive director of First Tee of New Hampshire, noting that it is “not your typical golf tournament. But the First Tee program is not your typical program either.

“It’s not just about golf. It teaches lessons in life. True, each and every one of the participants is an amazing golfer, but part of the reason they got so good is because they learned First Tee values on and off the course. That in turn helps them manage their game.’’

The 39 competitors, none from New England, will not be judged solely on their golfing skills. That’s just 30 percent of the equation. The other 70 percent depends on their life skills, interviews, essays, and community service. Every move will be scrutinized during their week-long stay in Rye.

Rhode Island is the only state that does not offer the program, according to Brockton, Mass., native Steve Gerrish, who serves as communications director for the National First Tee Home Office in St. Augustine, Fla. And he hopes Rhody will be in the fold by the end of next year. Since 1997, 2.9 million young golfers have been First Tee participants.

The 39 players in this week’s field, who submitted a written application and had to meet other criteria, represent the best of hundreds of thousands enrolled in the program.

Four young players from southern New Hampshire have participated in the First Tee program: Tracey Marshall of Newfields, who has been accepted to the Hank Haney International Junior Golf Academy and the Heritage Academy in Hilton Head, S.C.; along with Krystal Knight of Groveland, Lauren Thibodeau of Hampstead, and Garrett Zorn of Exeter. They will all participate in the US Kids World Golf Championship at Pinehurst next month.

The 17-year-old Marshall, who just completed her junior year at Exeter High, beat the odds in being accepted to the Haney Academy.

Thousands apply, but only a handful are chosen. She will spend her senior year in Hilton Head receiving golf instruction from Haney, who is swing coach for Tiger Woods.

“I have been given the opportunity of a lifetime by being accepted to the IJGA and the Heritage Academy for my senior year,’’ said Marshall. She plans to continue her volunteer work with N.H. First Tee this summer.

Blaik Shew, chief executive officer at IJGA, said that the core values and life skills that Marshall has learned through her participation in the First Tee program are in keeping with the life lessons put forth by the Academy.

“The First Tee and Hank Haney IJGA share similar values and both organizations impact the lives of young men and women by teaching them life skills through the game of golf,’’ said Shew.

The 12-year-old Knight, in her second year with First Tee, was the US Kids Golf Player of the Year for the Boston region a year ago.

“Krystal is a great participant in our program, not just for her golf talent, but for her continual advancement of her life skills,’’ said Rogers.

This is the second straight year Wentworth has hosted the Pebble Beach First Tee Open qualifier and if Rogers has her way, it will stay in the Granite State for the immediate future.

“A lot of hard work went into getting it here in the first place,’’ said Rogers.

“We’re working now to keep it here in New Hampshire next year. Not necessarily at Wentworth, but perhaps at Abenaqui Country Club in Rye.’’

Wentworth members have embraced the tournament, even though it keeps them off the course for the better part of three days.

“It’s a minor inconvenience at best,’’ said Robert Diodati, vice president and general manager at Wentworth. “Because it’s junior golf and we have so much respect for the efforts of the First Tee, it’s well worth it. It’s a national event and it’s prestigious to have it here.’’

So much so, said Jean Deas of Portsmouth, N.H., and a member of the First Tee board of directors, that none of the participants will have to stay in hotels or dormitories as they had before the tournament was awarded to Wentworth. Last year, Deas found 20 host familes to house the participants. This year she found 22.

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