Oliver and Lyle Rudnicki lived out a dream that very few amateur golfers will ever realize – playing the hallowed grounds at Pebble Beach Golf Links.

The Redmond High School twin seniors were two of the 78 junior players in the Nature Valley First Tee Open, a unique Champions Tour event that paired juniors with touring professionals.

Oliver and his playing partner Steve Lowery were near the top of the leaderboard for the first two rounds, shooting rounds of 66 and 67 before closing with a 1-under 71 on Sunday to finish in 16th place.

Lyle, who was making his second appearance in the event, and two-time PGA Tour champion David Peoples shot rounds of 69 and 71 to miss the cut.

“The views of the course were amazing, and it was great playing with the Champions Tour players,” Oliver said on his experience. “They have done great on the PGA Tour, and the Champions Tour, and made the game what it is today.”

LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE

Both the Rudnicki boys agreed that they took away a wealth of experience from watching their professional partners work around the challenging, windswept links at Pebble Beach.

“He was a good guy to play with,” Oliver said of Lowery, who finished tied for fifth at 7-under 209 during the tournament proper. “It was really good to watch them and see how they handled themselves… how he was able to stay up there on the leaderboard. He told me if I needed help with anything I could ask him.”

Added Lyle on Peoples, “His swing was perfect. You could see his putting stroke had been formed over 30, 40 years, so he had it down. He had an off-day that week… but it was great to talk to him, and it was an amazing experience playing with him.”

The twins, who have been playing high-level junior events for many years, also noted that the touring players stayed on an even keel, and made sure everything was perfect before executing a shot, a far cry from the faster-paced world of junior golf.

“If they’re not 100 percent sure about something they’ll stop,” noted Oliver. “They’ll spend extra time reading greens… in junior golf you tend to play fast. There’s a different mentality about it – we’re just playing tournaments and they’re playing for a living.”

Lyle was enamored by the pros’ dedication to improving their games, working long hours before and after their rounds to iron out kinks in their swing, and nail down the pace of Pebble’s tricky greens.

“Every time I was there, the range at Pebble Beach was completely packed with people working hard, and chipping,” he recalled. “Even though they were focused on the course, they still had a lighthearted attitude, and they never really got too hard on themselves.”

STAR POWER

Even the Rudnickis got a little star treatment at the tournament, as they were once approached by an enthusiastic group of youngsters, pens and programs in hand.

“There were some young kids that came up to us and asked us for our autographs,” Oliver said. “They were getting them from the pros, but it was surprising that they wanted ours.”

Having never played in an event with professional galleries and television cameras watching their move on every hole, the boys had to call on all of their experience to focus on the task at hand, and they passed with flying colors.

“I actually played better when the camera was on,” Lyle (right) admitted. “On No. 17, there is a camera right behind (the green), and I hit a 7-iron to about 10-15 feet away from the pin.”

Oliver said that he was able to stay so focused, he hardly even noticed the cameras.

“The only time I was nervous was maybe on the first tee, but everyone watching really didn’t bother me that much,” he said.

As if playing in a Champions Tour event wasn’t enough, the boys took a red-eye flight back to Seattle on Sunday night to play in a Washington Junior Golf event at Seattle Golf Club on Monday.

On very little sleep and exhausted enough to be a walking zombie, Oliver ended up winning the tournament with a 74, with Lyle not far behind in fourth place.

“I was so tired after the week of golf… but knowing that I wasn’t quite going to play (my best), I was able to throw away the bad shots in my mind, because that’s what I expected,” Oliver explained. “It turned for the better, for me.”

But all in all, the First Tee event was fun, and a chance for kids like the Rudnickis, who help teach junior golf clinics during the spring along with other community involvements tied into the organization, have the experience of a lifetime while exhibiting the First Tee’s nine core values, one of which is sportsmanship.

“After (Peoples) finished a hole he’d come over and help me read my putt – he wasn’t just focused on himself, he tried to help me,” Lyle said. “He never took the game too seriously and always had a positive attitude, and that’s what I’m going to take away from this more than anything.”

The tournament serves as an international showcase for The First Tee, an initiative to impact the lives of young people by providing learning facilities and educational programs that promote character development and life-enhancing values through the game of golf.

For more information, visit www.thefirsttee.org.