Natalia Jimenez still can’t believe that she is headed to one of the world’s top golf courses to play in a unique Pro-Am.
Jimenez, 17, of Pembroke Pines, and Tyler Mistretta, 17, of North Palm Beach, are two of 78 teens from First Tee chapters across the country selected for the PURE Insurance Championship Impacting The First Tee.
They will be playing at the prestigious PGA TOUR Champions event at Pebble Beach that will air on The Golf Channel.
“It is a very big deal,” said Jimenez, a senior and standout golfer for the girls’ team at Archbishop McCarthy High School in Southwest Ranches. “It still hasn’t hit me. I will feel like an LPGA professional. I hope to play some pretty good golf and leave an impression on everybody. I want to play the best golf I have ever played.”
Jimenez, who will represent the First Tee of Miami, and Mistretta, who will represent the First Tee of the Palm Beaches, will each be paired with a PGA TOUR Champions player and two amateurs.
Notable past professionals have included World Golf Hall of Famers Tom Kite and Bernhard Langer and notable amateurs such as Condoleezza Rice, former United States Secretary of State, and Alfonso Ribeiro (Carlton from “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” host of “America’s Funniest Home Videos”).
Her future goals consist of playing college golf at Division II Rollins College in Winter Park next year.
“I’d like to study psychology and focus on the development of children,” Jimenez said. “I want to make an impact in the community by starting an organization that collects new or used golf attire for underprivileged children.”
Jimenez said she has benefited from participating in the First Tee program. The First Tee program is a national organization that began in 1997 and started as a way to bring an affordable junior golf program to communities that did not have them.
What First Tee soon discovered was that blending the rules of the game with life and leadership skills, kids and teens didn’t just learn how to putt — they were learning nine important core values. It has since branched out to offering programs to veterans as well.
“I have become a better person and golfer,” Jimenez said. “I’ve realized how strong and important the core values are in all aspects of my life. The program has helped me build my confidence and develop respect. I spend more time giving back to the community and enjoy helping others who are in need. It inspired me so much that I created my own hurricane relief in my neighborhood.”
Jimenez also has a hole-in-one to her credit earlier this year when she picked up an ace on the Par-3, 7th hole during the Hurricane Tournament at Orange County National in Winter Garden. Among her hobbies are spending time with her family, including baking with her grandmother and cooking with her parents.
“My family and I enjoy dinner and a movie every Tuesday, my favorite day of the week,” she said. “I have a deep love for reading and cleaning. The moment I start reading an interesting book, I can’t let go of it. When it comes to cleaning, the moment I start, I have to clean the entire house.”
Her father, Diego, introduced her to golf when she was 10 and she credited Stephanie Peareth as being her role model and mentor.
“My dad always took me with him to play so I could drive the golf cart,” she said. “One day, I decided to give it a try and swing a club. Just like that, I fell in love with the sport, and I have loved it ever since.
“She (Peareth) works hard every day and puts her heart, mind and soul into everything she does,” Jimenez said. “She encourages me to believe in myself. She is an amazing woman.”