Category: Blog

Where are they now: First Tee National Championship winners 

First Tee returns to Clemson University this year for its 4th annual National Championship. This year’s field includes 24 boys and 24 girls from First Tee chapters across the country to experience what golf looks like at the next level.

In addition to showcasing their skills and perseverance on the course, players will also attend a golf careers panel and a keynote address from First Tee alumnus Gavin Parker. 

This year’s tournament will be streamed on Gamecast, and you can follow scoring on Golf Genius. 

Before we head to Clemson, we caught up with our past winners to see what they’re up to. 

Ashton Harper  
First Tee — Roanoke Valley 

Ashton won the inaugural First Tee National Championship at Clemson in 2021 and is now a member of the golf team at Virginia Tech, where he is majoring in business. Ashton said his experience with First Tee taught him valuable lessons in perseverance. “Golf is not a game of perfect, and there will always be ups and downs when playing this game, but they are magnified in tournaments due to the high stakes. I was able to use perseverance to fight these ups and downs,” he said. 

Ashton aims to become an All-ACC player by the end of his tenure at Virginia Tech before going on to play professionally. 

Symran Shah 
First Tee — Greater Dallas 

Like Ashton, Symran won the First Tee National Championship at Clemson in 2021 and now plays golf at Virginia Tech. She studies business and plans to have a career in healthcare administration. 

Hannah Lydic 
First Tee — Delaware 

Hannah won the 2022 First Tee National Championship held at Notre Dame and is now a member of the golf team at the University of Richmond, majoring in business administration with a concentration in marketing. Her experience in the First Tee National Championship taught her patience and perseverance in both herself and her game, she said. 

As a Spider, she’s won awards for golf and academics. “What’s cool about the game of golf is that if you play calm and treat your playing partners with kindness, you will ultimately have a better experience on the course which will allow you to play at a higher level,” she said. Because of her experience with First Tee coaches, she fell in love with golf and now has the goal to become a collegiate golf coach. 

Hunter Swanson 
First Tee — Green Valley Ranch 

Hunter won the First Tee National Championship at Notre Dame in 2022 and is now a business student and member of the golf team at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Hunter lost to Ashton in a playoff at the 2021 First Tee National Championship, which inspired him to have the perseverance to come back and win at Notre Dame and taught him how to be more comfortable in high stress situations, he said.  

As a college golfer, Hunter said the most important lesson he learned from First Tee is confidence. “I find I play more relaxed and have a better game when I practice enough to believe in my abilities,” he said. Since winning the First Tee National Championship, Hunter has made the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame, been a Pac-12 Men’s Golfer of the Week and the Nevada State Amateur runner up. 

Megan Meng  
First Tee — Greater Trenton 

Megan won the 2023 First Tee National Championship at Stanford and is preparing to begin her college golf career at Northwestern, where she’ll study economics. Her experience playing in the First Tee National Championship challenged her to be hardworking and patient. She said she continues to use other First Tee lessons. “I find that it is important to always apply respect, sportsmanship and courtesy to those you are playing with,” said Megan, who also won the 2022 PURE Insurance Championship. 

Recently, Megan was a member of Team USA at the 2023 Junior Solheim Cup and a 2023 Rolex Scholastic Junior All-American. She’s currently in the Top 10 of the AJGA Rankings and plans to pursue professional golf. 

Cooper Groshart 
First Tee — Central Coast 

Cooper won the 2023 First Tee National Championship at Stanford and now attends California State East Bay, as a business administration major and a member of the golf team. Confidence is a First Tee lesson that Cooper keeps with him today while playing competitive golf. His experience in the First Tee National Championship was inspiring, as he saw so many people from different places share the same drive to compete and succeed in golf, he said.  

Cooper played in the 2023 U.S. Junior Amateur in Charleston. As a freshman, he competed in 12 tournaments with his college team and has been on the dean’s list both semesters. He said his goal is to continue to improve as a player and a person. 

Learn more about the First Tee National Championship.

First Tee College Scholarship Program celebrates first graduating class 

Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. – (May 14, 2024) – Four years ago, President George W. Bush had a big surprise for seven exemplary First Tee participants. First Tee’s honorary chair told the teens they were selected as inaugural members of the First Tee College Scholarship Program. Now the organization is thrilled to celebrate their graduation. 

“Congratulations to the first graduating class of First Tee College Scholarship Program,” said First Tee CEO Greg McLaughlin. “We are very proud of your hard work and commitment, and we look forward to watching you move into the next stages of your journey. First Tee is proud to have played a role in your development.” 

“First Tee is family,” said Ricky Lam, a First Tee Scholar who is graduating from Harvard University and pursuing a career in insurance. “Ultimately First Tee is a place where you have such a strong support system to be able to pursue your passions, ask for help, expand your horizons and network so you can be the person you strive to be.” 

The First Tee College Scholarship Program is a need- and merit-based scholarship program through which Scholars receive financial support and access to a wide range of professional development opportunities. Each Scholar is paired with an adult mentor to ensure they are equipped with the tools they need to be successful in college and beyond. 

“The First Tee College Scholarship Program really helped me find connections, especially with my mentor,” said Malisone Chanthanpanya, now a graduate student and member of the golf team at Texas Wesleyan University. Mali is one of three Scholars who graduated early to bring the total number of graduated First Tee Scholars to 10. “She was a great resource who I could talk to about not just college and my career but about life. I got to meet a lot of people through the scholarship program.” 

The First Tee College Scholarship Program was launched in 2020, and it recognizes First Tee participants who have shown dedication to academics, community service and their First Tee chapters. It has since grown to include 70 Scholars, with the 2024 class slated to be announced next month.  

Meet the graduates: 

Luke Boldt 
First Tee – Coastal Carolina / East Carolina University 
He has accepted a position as a medical missionary for two years and plans to apply to medical school. 

Malisone Chanthanpanya 
First Tee – Fort Worth / Texas Wesleyan University 
She’s in graduate school and prepping for LPGA Q-school in the fall.  

Jessica Jiao 
First Tee – Metropolitan New York / Georgetown University  
She has accepted a position with BNP Paribas Bank in its equity capital markets department in New York. 

Ricky Lam 
First Tee–Tri-Valley / Harvard University 
He has accepted a position with Sompo as a commercial underwriter.  

Kelly Low 
First Tee – Fort Worth / University of Texas at Dallas 
She has accepted an offer with Amazon Web Services as an associate solutions architect in Austin. 

Nicole Monsalve 
First Tee – Miami / Duke University 
She has accepted a position with the NFL in its two-year rotation program in New York. 

Sara Rintoul  
First Tee – Central Florida / University of Florida 
She has accepted an offer at Proctor & Gamble as a brand manager in Boston. 

Remi Shendell 
First Tee – Metropolitan New York / Emory University 
She is graduating with a double-major in biology and political science. 

Borina Sutiko  
First Tee – Silicon Valley / Santa Clara University 
She hopes to attend Cal Berkely this fall to earn her master’s in information systems.  

Denise Wei 
First Tee – San Francisco / University of California, Irvine 
She has accepted an offer with PwC in its audit division. 

First Tee – Upstate South Carolina alumna Anna Morgan prepares to tee it up at Augusta 

Playing Augusta National is a dream for many golfers.  

“There are so many things that make the experience special,” Anna Morgan said. “The history that surrounds it and the Masters stories, it’s just exciting to be out there playing the same golf course.” 

Anna is an alumna of First Tee – Upstate South Carolina and a collegiate golfer at Furman University. She’s preparing to play in her third Augusta National Women’s Amateur, which begins Wednesday, April 3.  

“Up until 2019, they only had The Masters, and so to now have the ANWA and be able to say I’ve played tournament golf at Augusta, it’s just so cool to be part of that history,” she said. 

It’s almost a hometown tournament for Anna, who grew up a couple hours from Augusta in Spartanburg, South Carolina.  

Anna has had a storied career at Furman, where she was named 2023 SoCon Female Athlete of the Year. Last month she won the Purdue Puerto Rico Classic. “There have just been so many amazing moments,” she said. “I started playing golf because I thought it was fun, and I’ve been able to keep having fun with my coaches and teammates at Furman.” 

Anna honed that mentality at First Tee, where she still remembers playing golf baseball and other games. “I just have such great memories and made such great friends,” she said. “Especially during rough days on the golf course, I try to remember to always have fun. You need to enjoy it first and foremost.”  

She said First Tee helped her build confidence too. 

Anna’s dad got her into golf when she was young, but she played lots of different sports and actually focused on baseball until she was encouraged to switch to softball when she got older. 

Her advice to young golfers: “I definitely wasn’t the best golfer starting out. You don’t have to be the best player in your town or even the best on your team to have a future in golf,” she said. 

In addition to preparing for Augusta – where Anna says your short game is critical – she’s about to graduate with a double major in communications studies and political science. Anna is aiming to qualify for the Curtis Cup before establishing herself on a professional tour. 

Learn more about playing with First Tee.