PGA Tour golfer Stephan Jaeger, who competed at Baylor School and UTC.
photo by Contributed
Brooke Pancake, LPGA member and former Baylor School and University of Alabama golfer.
photo by Contributed
The Tennessee Golf Foundation is excited to announce that two of the Chattanooga area’s all-time top golf talents are teaming up this fall to benefit First Tee of Tennessee - Chattanooga.
Former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga All-American and current PGA TOUR professional Stephan Jaeger, and life-long Chattanooga resident and LPGA TOUR player Brooke Pancake will host the First Tee and Friends fundraising golf tournament at Chattanooga Golf and Country Club on Monday, October 16, 2023.
“The Greater Chattanooga First Tee is very grateful to Stephan, Brooke and our other friends – especially the membership of the Chattanooga Golf and Country Club,” said Tim Haralson, Program Director for the First Tee of Tennessee - Chattanooga.”
“We are very fortunate to have professionals the caliber of Stephen and Brooke be a part of our First Tee program. Our kids see the golf professionals, who while being very accomplished at the sport, were once kids like our First Tee students, just out here trying to get better every day. This fundraiser will enable us to better provide for the needs of the First Tee program as we strive to grow the game of golf to all youth in our area.”
First Tee and Friends hosted by Stephan Jaeger and Brooke Pancake is limited to the first 25 teams that enter. There is a $1,700/team entry fee, which includes golf and cart, tee gifts, lunch, and an acer-play Q&A with Stephan and Brooke, featuring heavy hors d'oeuvres and cocktails.
Sponsors are also needed for the event. Anyone interested in participating to benefit First Tee of Tennessee - Chattanooga can contact Tennessee Golf Foundation regional director Lamar Mills at lmills@tngolf.org.
First Tee of Tennessee - Chattanooga is headquartered at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Player Development Golf Complex, but offers programming at several sites. They include: Hickory Valley in Hamilton County, Flagstone Golf Course and Falcon Point Golf Course in Bradley County, and Ridgewood Golf Course in McMinn County.
First Tee of Tennessee - Chattanooga had 306 juniors participate in 2022. “The First Tee is helping grow the game, along with instilling great values in our youth - two things that I am extremely passionate about,” said Pancake. “I wouldn’t be where I am today – with all my many blessings on and off the course – if it wasn’t for this Chattanooga community that pours so much into our golf community. It is an honor and a blessing to be part of this event!”
Pancake grew up in the Tennessee junior golf community and went on to become a prep standout at Baylor School in Chattanooga the same time as Jaeger, who is originally from Munich, Germany.
Pancake went on to star at the University of Alabama, where she not only led the Crimson Tide to their first-ever Southeastern Conference title, but she helped them to an NCAA national title in 2012. Pancake finished second individually at the NCAA National Championships that year and later that summer represented the United States at the Curtis Cup. She also excelled in the classroom as she was the SEC Women’s Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year three times and the national Academic All-American Team Member of the Year in 2012.
Jaeger stayed in Chattanooga for his collegiate career, becoming a Southern Conference champion and First Team PING All-American for the Mocs during his senior year of 2012. He set several UTC school records, including career wins (4), career scoring average (72.10), par or better rounds (69) and rounds in the 60s (29). He tied the SoCon margin-of-victory record with an 11-stroke win at the conference championships.
Jaeger is the second-winningest golfer in Korn Ferry Tour history with six victories and was the Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year for the 2020-21 season. He is currently having his best season on the PGA TOUR to date, sitting 64th in the FedExCup standings with the regular season concluding this week at the Wyndham Championship.
ABOUT FIRST TEE: First Tee (www.firsttee.org) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit youth development organization that is supported by the PGA TOUR. Its mission is to impact the lives of young people by providing educational programs that build character and instill life-enhancing values through the game of golf. In 2022, First Tee celebrated its 25th anniversary and reaching millions of young people through its network of 150 chapters, 10,000 schools and 1,700 youth centers. Headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA, programs are delivered in all 50 United States and select international locations. President George W. Bush serves as Honorary Chair.
ABOUT THE TENNESSEE GOLF FOUNDATION: The TGF operates out of Golf House Tennessee, located in Franklin, and is home to the state’s governing bodies of golf – the Tennessee Golf Association, the Tennessee Section PGA and TGF Junior Golf. Golf House Tennessee also features The Little Course at Conner Lane – a state-of-the-art learning center with a nine-hole, par-three course and driving range with programming for all ages and skill levels. The TGF focuses on initiatives for juniors, veterans and the disadvantaged, with such offerings as the Sneds Tour, the Tennessee PGA Junior Golf Academy, Special Olympics Golf, PGA HOPE, The First Tee, Tennessee Middle School Golf and the Scott Stallings Kids Play Free Program