June 28, 2021 | BY AAGD STAFF
Tim O’Neal is not unfamiliar with the professional golf circuit. He’s been playing in minor leagues for decades and each time he hits the greens he is on a quest to win. But this weekend, the soon to be 49-year-old, Savannah, Ga., born golfer was the oldest player competing in The John Shippen, an event designed to bring top Black players together for an exemption opportunity into PGA Tour and LPGA Tour events.
At this competition O’Neal was at the Detroit Golf Club with contenders on the field who could be his children, and even grandchildren. Take for instance 17-year-old Amari Avery who, in the women’s field, was holding her own. O’Neal turned pro in 1997 after playing collegiate golf at Jackson State. He has four pro wins include three on the Latinoamerica Tour (the last coming in 2016).
Organizers of The John Shippen had selected some of the nation’s top Black golfers to compete at the Detroit Golf Club for a top-level golf experience Named after the first American-born golf professional and also the country’s first Black pro, John Shippen.
In a men’s field of 21 invitees, O’Neal, emerged as the winner, backing up his opening-round 71 with a 67 on Monday to beat Kevin Hall by two shots. O’Neal’s prize is to play in this week’s PGA Tour Rocket Mortgage Classic.
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Playing in two-person teams in the women’s division, the winners were Shasta Averyhardt and Anita Uwadia, who scored 73-68 to finish at three under. They earned an exemption into the LPGA’s Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational (July 14–17 in Midland, Mich.), which is also a team event.
The John Shippen Shoot-Out, a three-hole individual competition, followed the end of the women’s tournament and was held as a three-hole individual competition among the six women who finished directly behind the winners. Amari Avery, from Riverside, Calif., shot one under (birdie-par-par) to win, earning a spot in the LPGA’s Cognizant Founders Cup (Oct. 4-10 in West Caldwell, N.J.).
For O’Neal, his win this week was his goal. Because, in seven previous appearances on the PGA Tour, dating back to 2002, he has yet to make the cut. In 2019, O’Neal had his last start on the PGA Tour at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera, and his biggest leap of all time was in qualifying for the 2015 U.S. Open.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time, he said in an interview. “For me at 48, still to be able to compete and be able to play means a lot to me,” O’Neal said. “Hopefully it’s going to inspire guys not to quit and keep grinding.”
It’s a different road to The John Shippen for Shasta Averyhardt and Anita Uwadia. Averythardt, got her conditional LPGA Tour card in 2010 Q-School. A Jackson State alum, she succumbed to several injuries and was unable to maintain her playing status. Her last start on the LPGA was in 2013. Nigerian-born Uwadia attended the University of South Carolina and has had six starts on the Symetra Tour, having never yet played on the LPGA Tour.
“Obviously, we’re going to embrace it, and we’re very thankful for the opportunity,” Averyhardt said during an interview. “This is a great way to honor Mr. Shippen. So we’re going to stay in the present and just stay in the moment and really just one shot at a time. That’s like a cliche, right, but we don’t want to put too much pressure on ourselves. We still want to enjoy it and have fun.”
High schooler, Amari Avery has great potential and is already set to play college golf at USC. The humble golfer qualified for this year’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur and won the 2019 California State Women’s Amateur. This past May she played in her first LPGA event at the U.S. Women’s Open and missed the cut, shooting 76-77. Forging ahead, Avery has signed up for LPGA Q-School and will most likely turn pro should she earn her card.
THE JOHN SHIPPEN National Invitational was designed by Intersport specifically to showcase and provide heightened opportunities and recognition to Black golfers. The 36-hole, two-day tournament, was played Sunday and Monday, and invited 33 of the nation’s top amateur and professional men’s and women’s Black golfers to compete at Detroit Golf Club.
