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Thomas, who has been a part of the First Tee of Greater Miami Valley since 2009, will be Ohio’s lone representative during the PGA Tour Champions event Sept. 19-24 at legendary Pebble Beach Golf Links and Poppy Hills Golf Course in California. The internationally-televised tournament, airing on the Golf Channel, matches The First Tee program junior players with professionals and amateurs.
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Players won't know until a few weeks beforehand which pro — and two amateurs – they will be matched up with for the 14th annual 54-hole tournament, which takes best scores from each foursome to determine a Pro-Junior Champion.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Thomas said. “I’ve never had a chance to play in anything like this. Pebble Beach is, in my opinion, the greatest course in the world, so to be guaranteed two or three rounds there with the pros, I’m excited. As I get older, I feel like I’ll probably go back out there but to play in a tournament event like this, being on TV and all the hype around it, only 81 people get to go, so it’s pretty cool.”
After the show ended that morning, Thomas went back to bed, but it didn’t take long for the news to spread.
He awoke to find he had about 30 text messages from family members, friends, coaches past and present and others congratulating him.
“I couldn’t be more proud of him,” Hamilton boys’ golf coach Justin Beck said. “This is a fantastic honor for him, and it couldn’t have come to a better person. It’s something he’s worked for his entire life.”
Thomas wasn’t completely surprised by his selection. He had a good feeling he would make it after finishing as a finalist last year.
The selection committee had indicated then that he was “really close” based on some of the criteria related to character, values, grades and community service, but he just needed to lower his handicap a little. A handicap of 6 or better is required.
Thomas was able to improve his handicap after a strong junior season in which he lowered his nine-hole average from 43.56 the previous year to 41.09. He finished second-team All-GMC, just one stroke out of a top 10 finish in the conference tournament, which would have earned him first-team honors.
“Last year, I didn’t really know what to expect throughout the application process,” said Thomas, who was selected to attend the First Tee Life Skills and Leadership Academy In Blake, Minn., in 2015. “I knew my handicap had to be at a certain point and didn’t know if I was going to be there. I had a really good high school season last year and it lowered my handicap so I had a lot more confidence this time.”
Beck said while Thomas was coming off a great fall high school season, it was probably the non-golf aspects of his application that stood out most.
Credit: Greg Lynch
Credit: Greg Lynch
Thomas, who now volunteers to help young kids coming up through The First Tee program, was nominated in April by the Greater Miami Valley program director Annie Nelson and coach/volunteer Mike Wolf, and he completed his application in May, which included five essays, a résumé and a panel interview.
“Throughout the process and the whole thing, he’s been the same kid he’s always been,” Beck said. “He sticks to his values and is just a great kid to be around. He’s a positive contributor to our team and the community.
“First Tee really prides itself on teaching character and teaching kids to be positive contributors to their school and community, and he’s the model in terms of integrity and character. He’s an absolutely standup kid. … There was no way they could pass him up twice.”
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