Author: Tonya Goins

The First Tee of Greater Sacramento’s Sacramento Golf Hall of Fame Inducts Six Members

  Sacramento, CA April 24, 2018 – The First Tee of Greater Sacramento will induct six member into the Sacramento Golf Hall of Fame on Saturday, April 28th at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex.  This year’s inductees are Pat McGowan, Vince Mastracco, Don Haney, Bill Rider, Don Baucom & Jim Salazar. The First Tee of Greater Sacramento Golf Hall of Fame recognizes those individuals that have had an everlasting impact on the landscape of golf in and around Sacramento. Tour players, club professionals, media personnel, great amateur players and volunteers make up this unique list. Former inductees include Ken Morton Sr., Bob Eastwood, Al Geiberger, Scott McCarron, Kevin Sutherland, Natalie Gulbis and over two dozen more. Pat McGowan joined the PGA Tour in 1978 and was Rookie of the Year. He won the 1984 TPS Sacramento Open. Other top finishes include: Second in the Canadian Open, second in the Quad Cities Open, fourth in the PGA Championship. Pat attended Brigham Young University and is an active supporter of junior golf. Pat qualified to play on the Champion’s Tour beginning in the 2005 season. Became the Director of Instruction at the Pine Needles Golf Resort upon retirement from the PGA Tour.   Jim Salazar is the longtime head golf professional at Roseville’s Sierra View Country Club, PGA Quarter Century Club Member Jim Salazar has influenced the golf games of thousands of members and junior golfers over his career. Nearly three decades at Roseville’s most-tenured course, Salazar followed in the steps of another illustrious golf professional, founder of Sierra View CC and original head golf professional, Bill Brooks- marking a remarkable number of just two Head Professionals in the club’s history. Don Baucom’s long illustrious career as one of Sacramento’s most respected golf instructors might be highlighted by his work with fellow Sacramento Hall of Fame member and longtime PGA Tour and Champions Tour player, Kevin Sutherland, but his handprints have been all over the swings of some of Sacramento’s best players for the better part of four decades.   Bill Rider has committed decades of his life to the passion of running, assisting and scoring amateur golf in Greater Sacramento. His committee work on events such as the California State Fair Golf Championship and hundreds of different junior events through the First Tee of Greater Sacramento has been a privilege for those that he’s come into contact with- he’s an unsung hero of anyone who has played amateur golf in the region. In honor of his outstanding dedication, The First Tee of Greater Sacramento annually awards the “Bill Rider Volunteer of The Year Award.” Don Haney earned his BS from California State University-Sacramento, his MBA from the University of California at Berkeley and spent decades as a CPA here in the Greater Sacramento region. His vision for helping start & spending countless hours as providing accounting services to both SAY Golf and its subsequent evolvement into the First Tee of Greater Sacramento cannot be overstated.   Vince Mastracco hosted Sacramento’s longest running radio golf show in Golf Talk. Member Golf Writers of America Assoc., California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Assoc. Won International Network of Golf (ING) awards in 2002, 2005, 2006, 2010. Named by Sacramento Bee as one of 25 most influential people in area golf. California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Outstanding Journalist award 2005. NorCal PGA Section Media Person of the Year in 1999. About The First Tee of Greater Sacramento: The First Tee of Greater Sacramento has positively impacted the young people in our area since 1983. The First Tee of Greater Sacramento runs youth development programs throughout the year, reaching over 51,000 young people ages 3-18 annually, including 49,00 that participate free of charge. The First Tee of Greater Sacramento uses golf as a vehicle to teach core values, life skills and healthy habits to young people and help give them the skills they need to flourish in their lives today and in the future. Contacts for additional information Sacramento Golf Hall of Fame Website- www.sacramentogolfhalloffame.com Tonya Goins, Director of Marketing & Community Relations [email protected] (916) 808-0959   

Sacramento sends 5 local teens to Pebble Beach

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. Click here to learn more about the tournament
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.