September 1, 2020
BY AAGD STAFF
Just a few show years ago there were four Black players on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour. Today, there is only one left actively competing with full-time status: Mariah Stackhouse.
Remember these great African American standout players:
- Althea Gibson (1963-1978)
- Renee Powell (1967-1981)
- LaRee Sugg (1995-2001)
- Shasta Averyhardt (2011-present)
- Cheyenne Woods (2012-present)
- Sadena Parks (2013-present)
- Ginger Howard (2014-2018)
- Mariah Stackhouse (2017-present)
These ladies all showed tremendous promise and playing skills. Althea Gibson, after a long storied career in golf, died in 2003 at the age of 76. Renee Powell and LaRee Sugg have since retired. Cheyenne Woods, Tiger Woods’ niece, brought lots of celebrity appeal and gained tremendous sponsorship deals while also being exciting to watch on-screen and in the many commercials and endorsements that she received, yet, she is not actively playing anymore, it seems.
Mariah could recite the Gettysburg Address by the age of 3. And, thanks to her parents Ken and Sharon Stackhouse, Mariah has continued to stay focused on developing her skills while staying grounded in all things surrounding her magnificent life.
Her affirmations help tremendously, said Mariah during a GolfWeek magazine interview. “I know that I can do anything I set my mind to. I am a very proud person with my own ideas and my own direction in life.”
Daily Affirmation Leads The Way
This affirmation Mariah started reciting as a child would start each day in front of a mirror before she headed off to school. Today, that positive mental attitude has Mariah
as the only Black player on the LPGA with full status.
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The LPGA, now in its 70th year, resumes competition on Friday for the first time since mid-February at the new LPGA Drive On Championship at the Inverness Club in Toledo. With COVID-19 impacting all of America over the last several months this summer Mariah has been involved in conversations with family and close friends about race in America, while national protests have blazoned over TV, radio and social media in the wake of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis.
Just four years ago, Mariah was one of four Black players in the field at the Cambia Portland Classic. The longtime friends snapped a photo to mark the occasion. Tiger Woods’ niece, Cheyenne, was among them and is also in the Drive On field. Woods now has limited tour status.
Being full-time on the LPGA is intensive. There is a massive amount of preparation required for this tour that travels to 10 countries outside the U.S. on an annual basis. Mariah finds herself in a most unique position.
“One of the beautiful parts of diversity on the LPGA is that when people go to these countries to play, at some point, whether it’s for a week or for a month, a white person is going to be a minority in Asia and they’re going to feel like a minority for the first time sometimes,” said Mariah’s agent, J.S. Kang, president of Epoch Sports Group to GolfWeek magazine. “Asian players are going to feel like a minority when they come to North America.
“But there’s one person on tour who is a minority in every single country she plays in. I think it’s a credit to her that you would never know it.”
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The Early Years
Growing up attending predominately Black schools in Clayton County, Georgia, Mariah didn’t have a white teacher until she got to college at Stanford University. In her golf life, it was completely the opposite. At her golf tournaments, almost everyone there, players and spectators, were white. Yet, the competent player moved seamlessly through both of these worlds, staunchly focused on achieving her goals and winning.
“I don’t think kids grow up anywhere with too many biases or expectations,” she said to GolfWeek magazine of her contrasting worlds. “I was showing up to play a tournament and to try to win.”
Balancing Between Two Worlds
Mariah had also been prepared for this balance between two different worlds because her father Ken made sure she understood it. He had explained to her that she hadn’t experienced the overt racism that many other Black women golfers who had come before her, like Althea Gibson and Renee Powell. These golfing legends had paved the way, making it a bit easier for Mariah in a majority white sport. Altogether, there have been eight Black members of the LPGA.
Earlier this week the LPGA announced the first five recipients of the Renee Powell Grant, a program that honors Powell’s lifelong commitment to the game. The grants assist current and prospective LPGA*USGA Girls Golf sites to create partnerships and outreach opportunities with youth organizations serving Black girls.
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“I can say honestly that the golf community has been overwhelmingly positive to me,” said Mariah. “Have I ever felt othered? Sometimes it’s just me (Black), so yes I’ve felt that on occasion. But those experiences were few compared to the familial vibe on tour. The LPGA is my road family, so times I might have felt othered don’t define my experience. I won’t allow it to.”
Perhaps it’s not surprising then that to this day, Mariah recites the affirmation. Its words were chosen carefully to stand the test of time. A beacon to light the way, Ken said.
“I felt like I belonged everywhere that I was,” said Mariah, “because I told myself daily in the mirror that I did belong everywhere that I was.”
