FedExCup update: Tiger, Spieth, Day among notables in danger of ending season

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Twenty-five high school graduates have been selected to the First Tee College Scholarship Program. This is the largest class to date and a significant milestone as the youth development organization celebrates 25 years of helping young people build their strength of character through golf. The Scholars Class of 2022 includes aspiring physicians, computer scientists and lawyers, all of whom will be attending stand-out colleges and universities, including Harvard University, New York University and Columbia University. Selected from a national pool of First Tee teens, the diverse group of Scholars – 15 young women and 10 young men – are from both urban and rural communities across the United States. Nine of the Scholars will play on their college’s golf team; several are heading into STEM, business, and medical fields; and many already have impressive plans for careers that will support underrepresented and underserved populations. “I offer congratulations and a warm welcome to our Class of 2022 First Tee Scholars,” said Greg McLaughlin, CEO of First Tee. “With the support of our donors, we’re able to provide this ongoing support as they matriculate through college and prepare for future careers. These outstanding young leaders have bright futures ahead, and we believe the skills and values developed through First Tee will empower them throughout their collegiate journey and beyond.” First Tee College Scholarship Program extends its impact to alumni by providing support throughout their post-graduate careers. Each of the Scholars is paired with a dedicated, trained adult mentor who will help encourage and guide them throughout their college experience, including virtual and in-person meetups. The program also provides professional development workshops held in-person throughout the year, and up to $5,000 per year toward tuition. The program, which re-launched in 2020, is an evolution from the First Tee Scholars Program established in 2003. The program began after participant Steven Outlaw gave a moving speech in 2001 at the age of 16 and was provided an impromptu scholarship from a generous donor. Two years later, Outlaw graduated high school and was part of the inaugural First Tee Scholars Class. Since 2003, First Tee headquarters and its chapter network have awarded more than $15 million in college scholarships to alumni. Applications for the Class of 2022 were received from participants across the First Tee network. Following an online application process, finalists were selected by a committee for one-on-one interviews. In addition to academic performance, applicants were considered based on financial need, chapter involvement, volunteerism, and other criteria. First Tee College Scholarship Program is made possible by donors and corporate partners who stand behind the program and First Tee’s mission, including 3M, A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation, The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, Astros Golf Foundation, Brendan and Shay Cavanagh, Charles Schwab, Chevron Corporation, David and Geri Epstein Private Foundation, Delores Barr Weaver Legacy Fund, Edward and Lisa Vaughan, Jon Clay, Nelson and Michele Carbonell Family Foundation, Paul and Ruth Flowers, Peter A. Bonanni Scholarship Fund, PURE Insurance, Timothy W. Finchem Scholarship Fund, TruGreen, USSGA Memorial Fund, and Zotec Foundation. First Tee College Scholarship Class of 2022: Average GPA: 4.1 on a 4.0 scale Average SAT score: 1,470 out of 1,600 Average ACT score: 31 out of 36 Breonna Boyd, First Tee — Tennessee University of Michigan; Major: Business Administration Breonna plans to start a nonprofit that will provide natural hair care products to African American girls who need them. Nicholas Canales, First Tee — Greater Houston University of Nebraska; Major: Political Science and History Nicholas is a first-generation college student and will play on the men’s golf team. Antonio DelCastillo, First Tee — Orange County University of Alabama; Major: Pre-Med Pursuing a career as either a neuro-orthopedic surgeon or anesthesiologist. Srishti Dhurandhar, First Tee — Metropolitan New York New York University; Major: Electrical and Computer Engineering Srishti will play on the women’s golf team under the leadership of her former First Tee coach and NYU head coach, Katie Rudolph. Vivian D’Orazi, First Tee — Metropolitan New York York College of Pennsylvania; Major: Marketing; Minor: Hospitality Management Vivian will play on the women’s golf team and aspires to work in the golf industry post-graduation. Dylan Ebs, First Tee — Greater Austin George Washington University; Major: Journalism Dylan plans to pursue his goal of becoming a political reporter in Washington, D.C. Esther Etherington, First Tee — Indiana Franklin College; Major: Elementary Education Esther will play on the women’s golf team and plans to later receive a Master’s degree in Special Education. Maleyna Gregorio, First Tee — Coachella Valley University of California Riverside; Major: Business Maleyna will play on the women’s golf team and aspires to work in the golf industry. Raiyan Johnson, First Tee — Savannah Georgia Institute of Technology; Major: Astrophysics Raiyan will pursue her goal to become an astrophysicist and ultimately an astronaut. Lea Han, First Tee — Greater Sacramento Harvard University; Major: History Lea plans to become either an immigration or civil rights lawyer and pursue her passion for social justice. Zara Karim, First Tee — Greater Washington, D.C. George Washington University; Major: Computer Science Graduating with 4.5 GPA, Zara aspires to become a computer scientist or software engineer. Nelia Leong, First Tee — Upstate South Carolina University of Florida; Major: Public Health Nelia will be pursuing the pre-dentistry track with plans to use her degree to have her own pediatric dentistry practice. Myles Manor, First Tee — Greater Washington, D.C. North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University; Major: Chemistry Myles has a desire to bring interest and awareness to STEM careers in his community. Abigale Morris, First Tee — Phoenix Biola University; Major: Cinematography Abigale will play on the women’s golf team. She aspires to own a film company that provides film and media for nonprofits. Hannah Newell, First Tee — Greater Houston LeTourneau University; Major: Chemical Engineering Hannah will play on the women’s golf team while working toward her goal of building a career in chemical engineering. Sabrina Poole, First Tee — Greater Seattle St. Martin’s University; Major: Psychology Sabrina will play on the women’s golf team. Her future aspirations include helping high school and college student-athletes with mental and psychological struggles or crises as a clinical psychologist. Nancy Rivera, First Tee — Silicon Valley Middleburg College Vermont; Major: Pre-Med Nancy wants to be the voice for Latinx families who have had limited representation in the medical field. She plans on becoming an OB-GYN. Ahmad Raoul, First Tee — Greater Chicago Winston-Salem State University; Major: Computer Science While playing on the men’s golf team and majoring in computer science, Ahmad plans to leverage his STEM knowledge to further his passion for golf and improve his golf performance. Daniel Sears, First Tee — Massachusetts Franciscan University of Steubenville; Major: Philosophy and Finance Daniel plans on a career in either real estate or law. Connor Shooks, First Tee — Benton Harbor Loyola University Chicago; Major: Sports Management Connor aspires to either be an athletic trainer or physical therapist. Kenneth Treece, First Tee — Pine Mountain University of Alabama; Major: Aerospace Engineering and Political Science Obtaining a 35 out of 36 on the ACT, Kenneth has plans to become a public defense attorney. Alexa Vela, First Tee — Greater Houston Rice University; Major: Psychology and Pre-Law Alexa aspires to become a lawyer to grant the underrepresented the opportunity to recognize their constitutional rights and the powers granted to them by their government. Jaylon Wilson, First Tee — Metro Atlanta North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University; Major: Finance With plans to become a financial advisor, Jaylon aspires to serve the African American community through providing financial literacy, specifically to athletes and musicians. Iris Xue, First Tee — Greater Washington, D.C. Columbia University; Major: Computer Science and Engineering Iris hopes to one day build artificial intelligence models that tackle healthcare challenges, such as disease modeling and disease prevention. Jacob Zakaria, First Tee — Central Coast University of California Berkeley; Major: Biology Inspired by his father’s family being raised in a war-struck refugee camp in Lebanon without access to healthcare, Jacob plans on becoming a medical doctor.

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Kyle Westmoreland was born in Lewisville, Texas, four hours north of Memorial Park, host of this week’s Cadence Bank Houston Open. He lives in Katy, just a 25-minute drive from the Houston landmark where he will make his fifth start of the new PGA TOUR season. To be sure, Westmoreland, 31, can count this as a home game. “It’s an incredible opportunity,” he said. “I’ve wanted to play here since I can remember, from the time it was at TPC Woodlands to the Redstone Members course to the Players course to now here at Memorial. Growing up, we play a ton of junior golf events at Memorial Park, and it looks different than it used to about 20 years ago. “You know, it’s an awesome place and just a dream come true to be able to play here.” While few can claim to be more local than Westmoreland, fewer still have taken a more circuitous route to get to this point. In September, he made a shoestring tackle for the 25th and last spot on the Korn Ferry Tour Finals Eligibility Points List, 4.5 points ahead of Joey Garber. It was joyful validation for the long-hitting Westmoreland, who was lightly recruited out of high school. Although he had the opportunity to play for the University of Houston, he said, his dream was to play for Texas. Unfortunately, he wasn’t on the radar in Athens. “There’s a guy named Jordan Spieth that was a year behind me that I think the coaches were looking at pretty heavily,” Westmoreland said. “Air Force was my best option.” He won four times, earned All-Mountain West Conference honors, and graduated in 2014. Although he had considered a life in the air, that success opened his eyes to the possibility of playing golf for a living, and he pivoted from becoming a pilot, a 12-year commitment, to a five-year service hitch, instead. But even that plan was fraught with challenges. Stationed in Charleston, South Carolina, where he worked in financial management, his schedule was so jammed he hit balls under the lights at a nearby driving range until it closed at 10 p.m. He putted on a yardstick on the floor of his room to improve his alignment and path. He tested himself against the College of Charleston golf team on weekends, and sometimes drove two hours to Myrtle Beach to see his coach. Once, on the way to a deployment in Africa, Westmoreland spent a week in Roda, Spain, and found a practice facility that allowed players to rent one club per day. So that’s what he did. “The most important thing,” he has said more than once, “is to put one foot in front of the other.” Upon completion of his service in the summer of 2019, he turned fulltime to golf. His exit interview was delayed roughly two weeks when he Monday qualified into the Korn Ferry Tour’s Utah Championship, where he finished T25 to earn a spot in the following week’s event. He earned status on PGA TOUR Canada. He earned Korn Ferry status. Last season, making up for lost time, he didn’t miss a week, even throwing in a PGA TOUR cameo at The Honda Classic (sponsor exemption, missed cut). And when he squeaked through the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, he became the first Air Force Academy graduate to earn a PGA TOUR card. “I hope I’m not the last,” he said. “Hopefully we can inspire some people to continue playing golf even through their service time, get a little bit better, start putting on those Air Force and Army and Navy putting greens and try to get better and make it out here.” It’s been a slow start to the season, with Westmoreland missing three of his first four cuts. His best is a T54 at the Sanderson Farms Championship, but the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Westmoreland is not easily moved off his path. (He also served as an instructor in wrestling and ground grappling in Colorado Springs.) He is confident that with his coach, Jeff Smith, and the rest of his team, he can pivot. “The PGA TOUR, there’s data points everywhere,” Westmoreland said, “so we kind of look at them and see and kind of figure out what we need to do better to compete at the highest level … and I’m just excited to test it this week on a great golf course with some length. We like to hit it far, so, length’s always good.” One of the things his time at the Academy taught him, Westmoreland said at the season-opening Fortinet Championship earlier this fall, was perseverance. But that wasn’t all. “The biggest thing,” he added, “is it teaches you who you are.” Kyle Westmoreland, patriot, golfer, and PGA TOUR rookie, is a guy who finds a way.

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