Two local junior golfers are heading to Pebble Beach for the Nature Valley First Tee Open.

Richard Hoskins and Garrett Tucker of The First Tee of Pine Mountain have been selected for the event which runs July 6-8 at Pebble Beach Golf Links in California.

Hoskins, age 18, attends Claiborne High School. He has been playing golf for nine years and has a USGA handicap of 2. Hoskins has been an active member of The First Tee for five years.

Tucker, age 16, attends Cumberland Gap High School and has been an active member of The First Tee for two years. He has a USGA handicap of 3 and has been playing golf for eight years.

Hoskins and Tucker are among 81 juniors nationwide that were chosen for the event. The junior golfers, ages 15-18, will be teamed with 81 Champions Tour players and 162 amateurs as they compete for the title at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Del Monte Golf Course. The young men and women were selected by a national panel of judges that evaluates participants’ playing ability and comprehension of the life skills and character education learned through their involvement with The First Tee. More than 180 applications were submitted.

“The Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach is an opportunity of a lifetime for the young people in our program,” says Joe Louis Barrow, Jr., chief executive of The First Tee. “Playing at world-renowned golf courses alongside Champions Tour players, the event provides our participants the chance to showcase not only their golfing abilities but also the core values developed through The First Tee’s Life Skills Experience. We are very grateful for the generosity of Nature Valley.”

Nature Valley and the Champions Tour have partnered with The First Tee to promote The First Tee Life Skills Experience, which gives young people of all backgrounds an opportunity to develop, through golf and character education, life-enhancing values such as honesty, integrity and sportsmanship.