West Michigan Teen Golfers Heading to Tournament in Florida

Two local golfers, Dominic Luciani, a freshman at East Grand Rapids High School and Andrew DeYoung, a senior at Kenowa Hills High School will compete in The Golf to Paradise – First Tee Champions Challenge in Naples, Florida.

The pair is being sent by the non-profit group The First Tee of West Michigan. The First Tee teaches students values and life skills through the game of golf. Luciani has been a participant since 2013 and DeYoung joined in 2011.

Luciani and DeYoung are two of just eighteen students from across the country selected for this event. They will compete in three different playing formats against pairs of students from other First Tee chapters. A total of nine affiliates of The First Tee from across the country have been invited to participate.

“We worked with 630 students at The First Tee of West Michigan in 2015, and Dominic and Andrew are two of our finest young men. They are strong golfers, but more importantly exemplify the Nine Core Values we teach, especially the value of perseverance. We are ecstatic that they will represent our chapter on a national stage while also getting to see a new part of the world. Quite frankly, I’m a little envious of them getting in a few rounds of golf in a warm place,” said The First Tee of West Michigan Executive Director Tyler Smies.

The Challenge will be hosted at The TwinEagles Club in Naples, Florida, February 12 - 14.