From The First Tee of San Joaquin to the first tee at Pebble Beach and Poppy Hills – that’s where 15-year old Anitra Khoth is headed to compete in the PURE Insurance Championship, September 22-24, 2017. The Stockton (CA) High School junior is one of 80 junior golfers from The First Tee program chosen from around the country to play alongside legendary PGA Tour Champions golfers.
“This is a huge honor for Anitra but also a big feather in our chapter’s cap to have a representative from our program,” says Don Miller, Executive Director of The First Tee of San Joaquin, which operates a partner program at Greenhorn Creek Golf Resort in California’s Gold Country.
Photo courtesy ncsasports.org
Khoth, who has been part of The First Tee of San Joaquin for eight years, qualified for the PURE Insurance Championship by filling out a lengthy application answering questions pertaining to how The First Tee has impacted her life, community service, school grades, tournament record… having a handicap less than seven didn’t hurt her chances either!
In fact, Khoth’s zero handicap helped her to be chosen as the 2016/17 San Joaquin County female golfer-of-the-year, an award presented to her by Oakland Raiders quarterback, Derek Carr.
“The First Tee has helped me throughout my golf career and in my life due to all the core values and skills I’ve learned, all the friendships and bonds I’ve created with the coaches and students,” says Khoth, who was behind the ropes at last year’s event watching her friend play. “It’s a really big opportunity for me because my top goal right now is to play college golf and then, hopefully, turn professional.”
This week, as Khoth makes her first appearance on the national golf stage, her primary focus is having fun and to create a bond with her professional playing partner. With that, it’ll be a major leap towards achieving her goals.