The 23rd Pure Insurance Championship is back on the Monterey Peninsula this week, and PURE Insurance is marking its 10th year as title sponsor. The PGA Tour Champions event brings teens from 52 First Tee chapters into a pro-am field that is built as much around mentorship as it is around score.
That is why people are searching for it now. The tournament runs through Friday and Saturday in a team format that puts one professional, one junior amateur and two amateurs together in 80 foursomes, with each group playing one round on each course. By Sunday at Pebble Beach, 24 pro-junior teams continue based on score, split evenly between 12 male groups and 12 female groups.
The setup gives the event its appeal and its edge. First Tee participants are paired with PGA Tour Champions players and amateur players from the business world, but getting into the field is not just about swinging well. Consideration for a place depends on golfing ability and on the quality and integrity of life skills, which turns the selection process into part competition and part filter for character.
The professional side tightens quickly. After 36 holes, the field is cut to the top 50 players and ties, so the weekend is not only about introducing teens to a high-profile stage but also about separating the leaders from the pack before the final round at Pebble Beach. That structure keeps the event moving toward a clear finish while preserving the team format that makes it different from a standard tour stop.
The tournament’s reach is broader than one week on the calendar. It connects one of the PGA Tour Champions’ familiar stops with a national network of 52 First Tee chapters, and it does so under a title sponsor that has now been attached to the event for a decade. The PGA Tour used ShotLink powered by CDW player performance data and AWS Gen AI technology to create the story around the event, underscoring how much of the modern coverage now rides on data as well as access.
By Sunday, the most important number will not be the sponsor’s anniversary or the size of the field. It will be which 24 pro-junior teams made it through, and whether the players who arrived as prospects leave Monterey Peninsula with the kind of experience the event promises, and the kind of performance that keeps them in it.
