A 12-year-old Gary Koch was on the mound pitching in an all-star game in Sarasota with a trip to the regionals on the line.

Koch did his job, though some shoddy fielding put a damper on the day.

“I pitched well, though some of the kids behind me could not field or throw very well,” he said, laughing at the memory.

Koch’s team lost in extra innings. A few of his teammates were devastated, tears streaming down their faces.

“I walked out of the locker room and my dad asked if I was okay,” he recalled. “I said, ‘Yep. Take me to the golf course tomorrow. I am done with team sports.’ From then on it was all golf.”

Over the next couple of years Koch, who preferred controlling his own destiny in the sporting arena, spent many long summer days on the golf course. With school out, he was often dropped off before 7:30 and picked up at about six.

“I think my parents always understood they were leaving me in an environment where adults were present and there were rules to follow,” he said. “It’s what I wanted to do and I had to follow the rules.”

Koch, whose family moved to Florida from Louisiana when he was eight, recalled such memories over coffee at a South Tampa restaurant on a Saturday morning, 48 hours before he rang the opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange and three days before he was honored as being the recipient of the 2023 Payne Stewart Award.

The 70-year-old Tampa resident, husband to Donna, father to Patricia and Rachel and grandfather to three little boys, shared memories of his youth and a half century in golf that includes being a member of the 1973 national champs at the University of Florida, a six-time PGA Tour winner and broadcaster. He has also been instrumental in creating memories for many youngsters throughout the Tampa Bay region. That is evident through his dedication as chairperson of First Tee Tampa Bay and the Gary and Donna Koch Family Foundation.

First Tee was founded by the PGA in 1997 with the idea of helping youths learn and grow through golf. The Tampa Bay chapter launched in 1999 and has roots dating to 1991 with the founding of Urban Junior Golf.

Thanks to Koch’s commitment, and that of several others, the Tampa Bay chapter has blossomed. An annual dinner featuring keynote speakers that began in 2017 has raised more than one million dollars each of the past four years. The first speaker was PGA commissioner Jay Monohan, who has been followed by Jack Nicklaus, David Feherty, Ron DeSantis, Mike Tirico and, this year, Annika Sorenstam.

“The event has allowed our chapter to do things that none of us, I think, dreamed possible,” said Koch, who hosts an annual pro-am to benefit the chapter.

First Tee Tampa Bay has a presence in every public elementary school in Hillsborough County, within which the city of Tampa is located. Kids are introduced to the game with plastic clubs and plastic golf balls. Real clubs and golf balls are used at the middle school level, which First Tee has 80 percent covered within the county.

The youths also learn First Tee’s nine core values, including integrity, sportsmanship and responsibility.

“The parents start to see the value of not just being introduced to the game, but the nine core values,” said Koch. “We have been very fortunate that with the money we have raised, it allows us to reach more kids and provide access to what we have to offer.”

Many of the kids come from families that do not have the means to send their children to college. That is where the Gary and Donna Koch Family Foundation comes into play. It was launched by the Kochs in 2014 in order to help young men and women who grew through the First Tee program to attain college scholarships.

“What I saw happening with some of the kids that (First Tee) got at a fairly young age and grew to enjoy golf and took the nine core values to heart, was that a lot of them could not go to college,” said Koch. “I did not want them to not have the opportunity to continue their education and to not maybe continue playing golf and being involved in some form or fashion.”

Initially, the foundation handed out a couple of scholarships each year. It gradually grew to the point that, a decade later, the foundation has committed to giving at least $100,000 in scholarships to First Tee kids.

“What is amazing is we are finding that when many of these scholarship recipients come home for the summer, they volunteer at our First Tee events,” Koch pointed out. “They help campers, help coaches and they become role models to the other kids. It is great to see and very rewarding.”

Being a role model for many young men and women is a major reason why Koch is the 2023 Payne Stewart Award winner. The award was inaugurated in 2000, the year after Stewart’s passing, and is given by the PGA Tour to an individual who has done many great deeds through golf.

“It is beyond belief,” said Koch, shaking his head at how much the honor means. “I had no idea I was nominated. I am very humbled and very honored.”

Along with the award, $300,000 goes to a charity of the recipient’s choosing. Koch will use the funds to further bolster First Tee Tampa Bay.

The recognition comes at a time when Koch has been able to devote more attention to things that matter most. His broadcast schedule was pared down a bit in recent years, which was fine. What he did not expect was to be let go at the end of 2022 after 26 years with NBC.

Koch, who had a six-year stint at ESPN prior to moving to NBC, respects that change is a part of the business. Yet, the decision was abrupt and left him without an opportunity to say goodbye to those with whom he became close. Indeed, it was the cruel side of corporate America.

“It was so disappointing from the standpoint that over 26 years you make friends with players, caddies, instructors, tournament directors, PGA Tour officials,” he said. “I developed a lot of real nice friendships. Usually, the only time I saw those friends was when we were together working at a PGA Tour event. All of sudden, I am not going to see those people and I never had a chance to say goodbye. All of a sudden, I am gone.”

Fortunately, Koch remains ever present in the Tampa Bay area. In addition to his charitable endeavors, he has long served as an ambassador of the Valspar Championship. Played at Innisbrook in Palm Harbor, about 30 miles from both downtown St. Petersburg and downtown Tampa, the tournament had grown into a must-see event within the region.

“Having played in numerous of the events, I got to know the guys running the Copperheads (charitable arm) and the tournament chairs,” he said, giving much credit to tournament director Tracy West and her company, Pro Links Sports, for building up the event to what it has become, and Pro Football Hall of Famer Ronde Barber, chair of the Copperheads, for his commitment. “Being a local, it made perfect sense to become an unofficial host at times. It just seemed like a natural fit for me. I have kind of evolved along with the tournament.”

Though Koch may no longer be heard providing expert analysis, his diligence and dedication continues to speak volumes throughout the Tampa Bay region while his schedule allows for spending more time with those who are near and dear.

“It has allowed me to spend more time with things that are very important to me,” he said. “That’s a good thing at this stage in life. We have two of our little grandsons here in Tampa and it is nice to be able to do some things with them. If I was still working, there would be weeks where I would have no chance at all to see them.”