Wardlaw+Hartridge senior Nyah Roccamonte-Clark ’27 enjoyed a week young golfers dream about during her recent experience at the PURE Insurance Championship Impacting First Tee. Nyah was selected as one of just 80 First Tee participants from across the country to compete in this event, which was held Sept. 19-21 at the iconic Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course. She also played a practice round at each venue and a nine-hole round at The Hay, a course designed by Tiger Woods.
Moments after her nine-hole round on the day before the tournament, Nyah received a wonderful surprise when she was named the 2027 PURE Insurance Scholar. According to the PURE Insurance website, Nyah was selected for her “exceptional leadership, commitment to her community and role as a mentor to younger participants at her local First Tee chapter.”
Nyah started playing golf at the age of 5 when her grandparents, who worked at Plainfield West Nine in Edison, NJ, enrolled her in the course's First Tee program. Now, she’s the No. 1 player for the W+H team and a First Tee junior coach. She finished 15th at 2026 First Tee National Championship at the University of North Carolina, a competitive tournament that brings together the top players across the First Tee network. Off the course, she completed 225 hours of community service last year, participates in her school’s STEM Connections Club and maintains a 4.0 GPA. She aspires to pursue a career in sports psychology.
“Winning the scholarship was a really insane part of my week and I’m really grateful for it,” Nyah said. “It’s given to somebody who embodies the First Tee and giving back within their community. You get to work on different initiatives and I’m really looking forward to it. The First Tee program has given so much to me and I want to give back to it.”
The PURE Insurance tournament paired talented First Tee junior players with PGA Tour Champions professionals for an unforgettable week of competition, mentorship and personal growth. Nyah competed alongside respected veteran pro Zach Johnson, who won the tournament by two strokes with an impressive 14-under-par score. Nyah finished in a tie for third among junior players with a best-ball score of 17-under-par. PGA professionals competed as individuals and contributed to the junior players’ scores in the best-ball format. Nyah and her pro partner combined for a sizzling 63 on the final day of the tournament.
“It was great to have the professionals so intertwined with the kids. We were treated like professionals,” Nyah said. “I saw Fred Couples on the range and took a picture with him. Ernie Els was right there. Being next to legends was really cool.”
Nyah recalled a perfect 6-iron tee shot on the 17th hole in the final round as a memorable moment with friends and other competitors who didn’t make the cut cheering her on. That set her up for a run at first place, but she missed a 6-foot putt and settled for par. Walking the course with Zach Johnson for three rounds was a memorable experience and made quite an impression on Nyah, including on the last hole of the competition when he took the risk of using his driver on the tee with a water hazard near the fairway. Her pro partner had a two-stroke lead and could have played it safe, but he went for a big drive in hopes of securing an eagle to propel Nyah up the leaderboard.
“He is such a cool person and you can tell he cares about the kids so much,” Nyah said. “Even when I hit a bad shot, he was so nice and supportive. Seeing how he plays and getting that behind the scenes look was really amazing.”
The tournament was broadcast on Golf Channel, which gave Nyah the opportunity to represent W+H on one of golf’s biggest stages. She was interviewed with Zach Johnson by Golf Channel
“It was super cool to represent Wardlaw+Hartridge and my First Tee chapter on a wider scale in a different setting with a lot more people,” Nyah said. “Just being able to play at Pebble Beach and Spyglass is something people would pay thousands of dollars to do. I know those places are on a lot of people’s bucket lists. It was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity.”