SAN ANTONIO — "For golfers, Pebble Beach is the holy grail of golf," said Kyle Mahan, Johnson senior golfer.
The holy grail that not many golfers get to experience. Kyle Mahan is not one of those golfers as he'll get the Pebble Beach experience at the age of 17.
"So there was an application process that you had to fill out, and submit essays, and submit a golf resume that included tournament scores and stuff like that", said Mahan.
Mahan was chosen to represent San Antonio and the First Tee program.
"I was so excited about it, I've been looking forward to it. Tried to go last year but COVID happened so they didn't have it for juniors. So I was bummed out about that, this is my last year to do it, so I was over the moon about it", said Mahan.
Because of his excellence on and off the course, Kyle has been given this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"To represent us, and it's not only about the good golf that he plays, it's about the stuff that he does outside of the course, he has to get good grades, he has to give back to the community, and be an all-around good person, and that's what First Tee tries to teach, you can be a great golfer, but we want you to be an even better person," said Carrie Kimbell, First Tee Executive Director.
Mahan is excited about the opportunity but hopes with this experience he is able to inspire others to pick up a club and fall in love with the game.
"I do want to grow the game and see and say hey I want to go play at this really nice golf course and have this really nice opportunity. So hopefully they will see that and follow in some good people's footsteps", said Mahan.
"What I absolutely love is how he mentors our younger kids. He not only talks to them about life, but he talks to them about the golf game because he is a great golfer. That is what our program teaches is the ability to give back. And all of our students at his age do that as well," said Kimbell.