For starters, three of the five different winners of The First Tee Open won in their first tournament appearance. In addition to Craig Stadler, the inaugural 2004 winner, both Scott Simpson (2006) and Jeff Sluman (2008) won their First Tee Open debuts.

In another trend, being the first round leader doesn’t mean much.

In the six-year history of the event, only two first round leaders (Hale Irwin and Jeff Sluman) have gone on to win. Irwin opened with a 6-under 66 at Del Monte in 2005 and Sluman opened with a 7-under 65 at Del Monte last year. Second round leaders/co-leaders have gone on to win the event four of the six previous years, and the event has never had a wire-to-wire winner.

Finally, every winner of the tournament has carded a final round of 68 or better at Pebble Beach. Sluman is the only player to win with a round over par. Last year, Sluman shot a second round 1-over 73 at Pebble.

What will be a first-time ever admission free Home Care and Hospice First Tee Open at Pebble Beach week kicks off Thursday with the annual Coca-Cola Champions Challenge.

The Challenge, a five-hole competition featuring six Champions Tour players paired with six junior golfers from six different Chapters of The First Tee, tees off tomorrow at 3 p.m. on hole No.1 at Pebble Beach Golf Links, site of the 2010 U.S. Open.

Two weeks ago, the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, the group that runs the First Tee Open, announced that admission to this year’s tournament will for the first time be free of charge. The three-day tournament, which features legends of the Champions Tour competing side-by-side with some of the best junior players in the country, will be played Friday and Saturday at Del Monte GC and Pebble Beach with the final round to be held Sunday at Pebble Beach.

“We want to encourage the local community to come out to Pebble Beach and watch some amazing golf,” said Monterey Peninsula Foundation President Steve Worthy. “The Champions Tour players really embrace this tournament and the exceptional young people who make up junior field are inspiring. We hope locals will take advantage of this unique opportunity.”

In the pre-tourney Challenge, six pros team up with six juniors in an alternate shot competition for $40,000 that is donated to designated The First Tee Chapters over Pebble’s old ‘Whiskey Route’ (holes 1,2,3,17 and 18).

Pros slated to compete in the Challenge include two-time defending First Tee Open champ Jeff Sluman, former winners Hale Irwin and Scott Simpson, 5-time AT&T Pro-Am winner Mark O’Meara, John Cook and Champions Tour rookie Mark Calcavecchia.

The First Tee members who will team up with the pros, respectively, include John Louie of Salinas, Cody Tyalor of The First Tee of Dallas, Natalie Bodnar of The First Tee of Tri-Valley, Emily Gilbreth of The First Tee of Houston, Spencer Jones of The First Tee of Cleveland County and Stephanie Carlozzi of The First Tee of Naples/Collier.

While being admission free all week, this year’s First Tee Open also features a new sponsor.

The National Association for Home Care (NAHC) is a non-profit organization that represents the nation’s 25,000 homecare and hospice organizations. NAHC also advocates for the more than two million nurses, therapists, aides and other caregivers employed by such organizations to provide in-home services to some 10 million Americans each year who are infirm, chronically ill, disabled and dying. For more info, please visit www.nahc.org and www.caring.org.

The field for next week’s Champions Tour Home Care and Hospice First Tee Open at Pebble Beach continues to take shape.

Among those joining the 78-man professional field within the last week include 2010 Senior PGA Championship winner Tom Lehman and 2008 winning Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger. Also getting in via sponsor’s exemptions were eight-time PGA Tour winner Jerry Pate and 1988 Masters champ Sandy Lyle.

Lehman, who finished tied for 14^th at this year’s British Open, was in the hunt at the recent Jeld-Wen Tradition prior to a final round 73.

Azinger, a former AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am winner who’ll be making his First Tee Open debut, has released a book, ‘Cracking the Code’, that details the strategies used for the 2008 Ryder Cup.

The quartet will join fellow Champions Tour members Fred Couples, Tom Kite, Tom Watson, Hale Irwin and two-time defending champion Jeff Sluman, among others, for the three-day tournament (Sept. 3-5) at Del Monte Golf Course and 2010 U.S. Open host Pebble Beach Golf Links.

One of the most unique golf events on the tour, the First Tee Open features 78 pros playing side-by-side with 78 of the best juniors in the nation. Play both Friday and Saturday will be held at both Del Monte and Pebble Beach, with Sunday’s final round to be held at Pebble. For the first time, admission to the event is free this year.

The tournament showcases The First Tee, an initiative of the World Golf Foundation which provides young people of all backgrounds an opportunity to develop life-enhancing values through golf and character education