Ballwin golfer wins national First Tee title

Scott Langley will have a big story to tell when he mentors local First Tee kid golfers this fall. Last month, he teamed with senior pro Dana Quigley to win the pro-am title at a nationally televised tournament in California.

Seventeen-year-old Scott and Quigley shot 21-under par to beat 77 other teams that paired senior pro golfers with young players from around the country. Scott had qualified at a selection meet at Kansas State University in July.

But, it took more than his medallist score for Scott to qualify in Kansas. The whole First Tee program is about more than just golf.

The World Golf Foundation is the national sponsor for the First Tee program. It calls for prep golfers to mentor younger kids in not only golf but also "9 core character values."

The Parkway South High School senior has participated in First Tee mentoring for over two years. Scott said, "Working with First Tee kids is important to me."

Scott himself had to do more than shoot the medallist score to qualify for the Wal-Mart First Tee Open on Sept. 1-3.

"I had two interviews and had to write an essay about First Tee," he said. Also, judges took into consideration school grades and community involvement. Scott said he ranks in the top 30 of his high school class of 550. He's a member of the National Honor Society.

Last year, Scott organized a charity golf tournament to raise research funds for the ALS Foundation. That's the group looking for a cure for "Lou Gehrig's disease."

When Scott resumes his First Tee mentoring of St. Louis area kids this fall, he'll describe the national tournament win. But, he'll be mixing in character lessons also.

The "core values" are honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, courtesy, confidence, respect, responsibility, perseverance and judgment.

Scott uses the example of how confidence is the most important aspect of being a successful putter. He said, "You can learn technique and all that other stuff. But, you can't be a good putter without developing confidence."

The game of golf depends heavily on honesty since golfers usually keep their own scores. (To learn more about the First Tee program, visit www.thefirsttee.org.)

The First Tee Open was played at the Pebble Beach course in California. Scott said the golf course "is at the top of the list of golf courses I've played." Many holes have the Pacific Ocean as the main water hazard.

Asked about his favorite hole, Scott picked the oceanside par-3 7th hole. "I have to be partial to that hole because I birdied that the first day," he said.

A total of 40 First Tee qualifiers started competition along with 38 other young golfers. They were in foursomes that included one pro golfer and two "celebrity" adult amateurs.

Scott said the two adults on his team the first day included the speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives and a top executive of Wal-Mart. On the second day, the two adults were a CEO of Allianz Life and a top executive of Wells Fargo bank.

Among other celebrities he met were comedians George Lopez and Bill Murray. "I got to shake hands with Murray and all I could think about was the movie, 'Caddy Shack.'"

After the first two days, the field was trimmed for the finals on Saturday and Sunday. Scott and Quigley made the cut. Scott said he shot 68-75 on the par-72 course.

Another plus about his playing was avoiding the water. "I didn't hit the ocean," he said.

Scott said he helped the team on a few holes although the First Tee qualifiers had to play scratch golf just like the pros. About the only concession was that the young players got to tee off closer to the hole than the pros on some holes.

He said he wasn't as much help to Quigley on the final day of the meet. "After all, he shot a 66 the final day," Scott said.

Scott, who is a left-handed golfer, started playing at age 5.

This summer he said he's played a "ton of tournaments." The finished second in both the Western Junior meet in Chicago and an AJGA meet in Memphis.

He is looking forward to his final year of golf at Parkway South. He was the No.1 player on last year's team that finished second in the Missouri state championships.

Asked about this year's chances, Scott admits the team has a challenge. Two seniors from last year graduated. But, he said the school had some good young talent. "My younger brother, Nick, is a freshman and he's pretty good," Scott said.

Scott already has been awarded a golf scholarship at the University of Illinois-Champaign. He wants to play on the PGA pro tour later but he's also happy that the U of I has a good engineering school.