Luke Newell has been chosen from thousands of First Tee applicants to participate in the 2024 Pure Insurance Senior PGA Tour event in Monterey, CA. To qualify, applicants needed to accumulate a specified number of volunteer hours, be active in the First Tee program, and embody the First Tee core values. From the pool of applicants, forty boys and forty girls were selected, each paired with a Senior PGA Tour player.
The selection reveal took place on Tuesday night at Pebble Beach’s driving range facility, featuring a concert by the rock group Train. Additionally, a closest to the pin contest was held, where the top five boys and top five girls earned $2,000 for their respective First Tee chapters. Luke secured 5th place, winning $2,000 for the Salina First Tee.
After the contest, the applicants discovered their Senior PGA Tour Pro pairings. Luke was paired with Jeff Maggert, a seasoned golfer with an impressive record of 3 PGA Tour wins, 1 Asia Circuit win, 1 Australian Tour win, 2 Ben Hogan Tour wins, and 6 Senior PGA Tour wins. Maggert has also participated in 2 Ryder Cups and 1 Presidents Cup team.
Luke had two practice days: one at Pebble Beach on Wednesday, September 18th, and one at Spyglass Hill on Thursday, September 19th. The official tournament days were Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (if a junior made the cut). After Saturday’s round, a cut was made, allowing the top 12 boys and 12 girls teams to advance to Sunday and play at Pebble Beach again with their pro.
On Friday, September 20th, the first tournament day at Pebble Beach, Luke played alongside Jeff Maggert and two amateurs in a fourball format, where the better score between Luke and Jeff counted after each hole. They finished the day with a combined 6 under, placing Luke Tied for 6th, putting him in a strong position to make the cut.
Day 2 was held at the challenging Spyglass Hill golf course, known for its fast greens, tight fairways, and abundant trees. Luke and Jeff started even par on the front 9, slipping to Tie 18. However, Jeff birdied their 10th hole, and Luke birdied their 12th, bringing them back to 8 under and T8 with 6 holes remaining. They managed to par holes 4 through 8, maintaining T8 with one hole to go. Despite both facing challenging birdie putts over 50 feet on the final hole, they 3-putted, dropping Luke to T11 with 8 other boys. With only 2 spots available, Luke was initially downhearted. The tie-breaker, based on their round at Pebble Beach, worked in his favor as they shot 6 under. Another team with the same score was outperformed by Luke on a hole-by-hole comparison, allowing him to make the cut.
Luke got to play an additional day at Pebble Beach, competing for the Junior/Team title. Starting in 12th place, 6 shots behind, they had a strong performance, finishing 4 under and securing a T8 finish in the team competition.