July 4, 2021
A one-hour special about THE JOHN SHIPPEN National Invitational, designed by Intersport specifically to showcase and provide heightened opportunities and recognition to Black golfers, will lead into final-round coverage of the PGA TOUR’s Rocket Mortgage Classic.
The nation’s top amateur and professional Black golfers were invited to play in the event June 27-28 at Detroit Golf Club, and the field featured 21 men and 12 women competing to earn exemptions into PGA TOUR and LPGA events.
More information about THE JOHN SHIPPEN is available at www.TheJohnShippen.com.
THE JOHN SHIPPEN is named after John Shippen, Jr., who was the first American-born golf professional and also the country’s first Black golf professional. Shippen tied for fifth place in the second U.S. Open in 1896 and was bestowed PGA of America membership posthumously in 2009.
Results of THE JOHN SHIPPEN National Invitational are available here.
The men’s division was a 36-hole individual stroke play event, with the winner receiving an exemption into the PGA TOUR’s Rocket Mortgage Classic (July 1-4 at Detroit Golf Club). Tim O’Neal (Savannah, Georgia/Jackson State University) shot a 71-68—-139 to finish 5-under par and win by two strokes over Kevin Hall.
O’Neal shot 74-73—147 (3-over par) in the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
The women’s division featured a 36-hole competition with a two-player team format. The winning duo earned exemption into the LPGA’s Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational (July 14–17 in Midland, Michigan), which is also played as a team event.
Shasta Averyhardt (Flint, Michigan/Jackson State University) and Anita Uwadia (Lagos, Nigeria/Fort Worth, Texas/University of South Carolina) shot 73-68—-141 to finish at 3-under par and win by two strokes over Breanne Jones and Sierra Sims.
THE JOHN SHIPPEN Shoot-Out Presented by Cognizant was held immediately following the conclusion of play in the women’s competition, as the second-place team and the two teams that tied for third participated in a three-hole individual competition that awarded the winner an exemption into the LPGA’s Cognizant Founders Cup (October 4-10 in West Caldwell, N.J.)
Amari Avery (Riverside, California) beat out Breanne Jones, Sierra Sims, Bailey Davis, Zoe Slaughter and Amari Smith, shooting birdie-par-par in a three-hole aggregate competition.
BUSINESS SUMMIT: THE JOHN SHIPPEN Sports Business Summit was held as a virtual event Tuesday, June 28 and Wednesday, June 29 and was created by Intersport to address the lack of people of color in business and leadership roles in golf and across professional sports. To create an avenue for awareness and opportunities, THE JOHN SHIPPEN Sports Business Summit provided students with exposure to powerful and leading voices across sports and business, and those individuals shared their experiences and offered advice about how to pursue and secure a career within the business of sports.
