Gracie Smith, competing for Bullard High School, is shown after winning the UIL Class 4A state golf championship on May 7 on Legends Golf Course in Kingsland. (Bullard Athletics)

Back in May, Gracie Smith captured state golf medalist honors.

Now, the Bullard High School rising senior has the opportunity to play on one of the world’s most iconic courses.

Smith will represent First Tee — Greater Tyler in the 21st Annual PURE Insurance Championship set for September in Pebble Beach, California.

The event will bring teens from First Tee chapters to Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course for the PGA Tour Champions tournament, Sept. 17-22. The annual event, hosted by the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, is televised nationally on Golf Channel.

Smith has been on the Lady Panthers varsity for three years and is a 10-year participant in First Tee — Greater Tyler. Along with hitting the links, Smith is a concert pianist and cellist.

“Gracie has been a participant of First Tee — Greater Tyler for just over 10 years,” Nash Hankins, First Tee — Greater Tyler program director, said. “During that time, she has grown as a person and as a golfer. She has played in a lot of highly competitive golf events. She has many victories in which she demonstrated perseverance, integrity and confidence. However, she does not have a major victory while representing First Tee Greater Tyler. It is her goal to show that the Core Values and Key Commitments of First Tee can lead anyone on the path to victory.”

Hankins added, “Gracie will showcase the skills and values she learned at First Tee during a week of competition and mentorship, during which they’ll be paired with a PGA Tour Champions pro and amateurs from the business world.”

She will join 80 teens from First Tee chapters across the country and — for the fourth year in a row — a participant from First Tee — Morocco.

Participants were selected by a national panel of judges based on their personal growth and development through First Tee’s programs, as well as their playing ability. The full junior field was revealed live on Golf Channel’s “Golf Today.”

This year’s field of PGA Tour Champions players are scheduled to feature legends including Ernie Els and Vijay Singh, as well as three-time PURE Insurance Championship winner Kirk Triplett and Thongchai Jaidee, who will defend his title.

Academy Award winner Clint Eastwood serves as chairman of the PURE Insurance Championship.

Play will be conducted on Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course on Friday and Saturday. The final round will be contested solely at Pebble Beach Golf Links on Sunday, where 24 First Tee juniors will compete based on their 36-hole performance. The tournament will crown one male and one female First Tee junior champion on Sunday.

In May, Smith rallied to win the UIL Class 4A medalist honors.

Smith carded a final round of 5-under 67 to bolt up the leaderboard and captured the title in Kingsland.

The Lady Panther had a two-round total of 3-under 141 on the 5,479-yard, par-72 Legends Golf Course. She was tied for seventh after a first-round score of 74. Smith’s 67 was the lowest round of the tourney.

Smith won by three strokes over runner-up Alex Hileman of Sunnyvale (73-71—144).

Smith is the second Lady Panther to win an individual state championship, joining Cindy Haley who was a back-to-back Class 2A champion in 1984 and 1985.

Smith and Haley have the same coach, Tim Moore.

The Bullard Lady Panthers have won five state championships as a team (Class 2A in 1984, 1985, 1986, 1991, 1992).

Bullard’s Keith Durrett won Class B boys honors in 1976.

The Bullard Panthers have won two state team titles — Class B in 1976 and Class 1A in 1980.

Last year, Jaxson Green of Troup and Kenzie McClenny of Lindale represented First Tee — Greater Tyler. Green finished 10th overall. The Williams brothers — Benjamin and Nathan — represented First Tee Piney Woods.

Green finished 10th overall.

In 2022, Sidney Robertson represented Tyler and Kinley Pessel represented Piney Woods.

Others who have represented Tyler were Harrison May (2021), Annaka Watts (2017) and Walker LaRue (2017).

More than 1,000 teens from First Tee have played in the PURE Insurance Championship, experiencing the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet, play and be mentored by PGA Tour Champions players and amateurs in the field.

First Tee is a youth development organization that teaches life skills and helps kids and teens build their strength of character through golf. The PURE Insurance Championship is one of several national opportunities provided by First Tee Headquarters to encourage and motivate participants as they progress through the program and toward higher education opportunities.

First Tee — Greater Tyler is one of 150 First Tee chapters across the U.S. and select international locations. 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. First Tee — Greater Tyler reaches kids and teens through programs delivered at 3 program locations and 35 schools.

Learn more at firstteegreatertyler.org.