A Chance Meeting Led First Tee’s Jenkins on Career Path
January 15th, 2026 – Golf Georgia ⛳
Some stories stay with us because they remind us how opportunity actually works.
Jenae Jenkins, known to many as Coach Jae, and the Executive Director of Pittsburgh Yards based First Tee – Metro Atlanta. Yesterday, he shared a story that traces an unexpected path, and offers a powerful lesson in readiness, mentorship, and purpose.
He thought sports media would mean basketball.
He never imagined golf.
And he certainly didn’t imagine a chance encounter at a gas station changing the direction of his life.
Spring 2002. Georgia Southern University. A required internship to graduate. A job at a gas station in Statesboro, just ahead of the Masters. A Buick with a PGA TOUR emblem pulls in. Before that car drove away, Jenae took a shot.
That 10-minute conversation with Stu Nicol, then Senior VP of PGA TOUR Productions, opened a door not because Jenae was a finished product, but because someone saw potential and took a chance. That moment led him through the TOUR Championship, the American Junior Golf Association, and ultimately to First Tee – Metro Atlanta in 2013.
Today, Jenae leads an organization that serves more than 1,000 young people annually and has awarded over $275,000 in scholarships in just the past three years. But the deeper impact is harder to quantify.
At First Tee, young people learn how to manage stress, build confidence, and develop the mental strength to navigate life, not just sport.
That’s why this story matters to us at Pittsburgh Yards. This is what purpose-driven leadership looks like: showing up, staying grounded, and creating pathways for others to grow.
“You don’t have to be perfect to be worthy of opportunity,” Jenae reminds us. “You just have to be ready when your moment shows up.”
We’re proud to share space with leaders like Coach Jae—because stories like this don’t just inspire. They explain why places like Pittsburgh Yards exist. And yes we love golf too!
📖 Read the full article (via Golf Georgia):
https://bit.ly/JenaeJenkins