LIV Golf kicked off its 3^rd event at Bedminster Golf Club owned by former President Donald J. Trump. The atmosphere was one of excitement that kicked off with a parachute drop and glaring music on the first Tee.

The course setup had many elements different from the PGA Tour (PGAT) event—from team competition to a 54-hole competition with a $4 million first place prize along with ruckus crowd participation. A fan Village featured a golf performance center that offered swing simulators and a chipping and putting challenge with professional coaches on hand for tips.

More of the experience included a Kids Fun Zone fully staffed with workers, and food trucks offering various types of foods in a party-type atmosphere where far different from what one would experience at a PGAT event. Despite the star-studded lineup of household name golf superstars like Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Brooks Koepkra, and Patrick Reed, the crowds were sparse. 

Many fairways were near empty but the tee boxes were crowded with vibrant crowds.

LIV Golf has a way to go. They have to overcome a lot of initial bad publicity as a league and so does its individual players. They can make some suggested outreach to the African American community by marketing to its golfing community, its tv viewers and its business community for inclusion and opportunities. 

After sharing with his millions of fans that he had been in talks with LIV, Barkley has ended any speculation, stating: ‘I’m staying with Turner for the rest of my TV career’

However, the caveat for the basketball Hall of Famer who is now staying put at TNT, it is unclear whether Turner will extend Barkley’s contract which has three years left to go. Coincidentally, his contract ends at the same time as the network’s deal with the NBA.

With the third event of LIV Golf underway at Trump National Bedminster, beginning on Friday, and pro golfer Bubba Watson being announced as the newest signing during the broadcast things are continuing to get more, and more interesting for the new Saudi-backed series.

Speaking to the New York Post, the former Basketball player turned TV analyst, revealed that he won’t be moving to LIV Golf as a broadcaster. “I want to thank Greg Norman and LIV for their interest in me. I wish those guys great success and nothing but the best. But, in my best interest, and being fair to Turner — because Turner and basketball have given me every single thing in my life, it is best for me to move on and I’m staying with Turner for the rest of my TV career,” said 59-year old Barkley.

Barkley is a former MVP with the NBA and has $30 million remaining on his TNT deal. The New York Post and Barkley also stated that, besides the $10 million a year he makes from TNT, he also makes another $10 million in endorsements, including Subway, Capital One and Dick’s Sporting Goods.

“My number one priority is to be fair to Turner and my sponsors to be honest with you,” Barkley explained. “I couldn’t just keep them holding on so I made up my mind [Thursday] night. I was like, ‘Make a decision and live with it.’ ”

The only way that LIV could possibly attract Barkley is, “If they offer me something crazy, I’m gonna take it too. Considering how much I make now, it would take a really huge number for me to give up my life right now. I’m not gonna give up my life for… I don’t like to talk about how much money I make,” he said while speaking on The Dan Patrick Show.

Lauren Shelly began working for the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) in 2008 after being a communications intern in the summer of 2007. A non-golfer, she began her career in golf through the AJGA’s internship program after graduating from Elon University with a degree in communications and a minor in business administration. She quickly realized she had found her niche. She was initially hired as a Tournament Coordinator, running and assisting a total of 13 events in her first eight months, while achieving a 96 on the PGA-USGA Rules of Golf test.

AFRICAN AMERICAN GOLF EXPO ORGANIZER JIM ENCOURAGES EVERYONE TO REGISTER AND MAKE THEIR HOTEL RESERVATIONS NOW!  https://aagolfexpo.com/register-here

With a passion for recruiting, Lauren was promoted to the Director of Recruiting and Special Events in the fall of 2008 and spent over a decade building the AJGA’s internship program into the backbone of the organization. Under her leadership, the program has grown exponentially from 100s to 1000s of applicants, while improving the hiring process and impacting the next generation of AJGA staff and industry leaders not only in golf but in sports and corporate America. 

Currently, as the Director of Training and Development, she focuses her time on training and educating the AJGA staff on personal growth and professional development, while overseeing the internship program. She focuses on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives centered around membership and hiring for the organization. Utilizing her special events background, Lauren also annually runs the Rolex Junior All-America Awards Banquet and several company functions.

ABOUT THE AFRICAN AMERICAN GOLF EXPO AND FORUM

The mission of the African American Golf EXPO and Forum is to promote the game, the business the industry the careers, and the opportunities in the $84 Billion golf industry to African Americans.

The objectives of the EXPO are to :

1) Promote economic growth, diversity, and inclusion in golf to African Americans and other underrepresented groups

2) Provide a friendly and welcoming environment for golf industry leaders to develop relationships with African Americans who are entrepreneurs, community programmers, and golf enthusiasts.

3) Help grow the industry by featuring subject matter experts in learning forums, seminars, and networking opportunities

4) Provide funding to grassroots organizations involved in teaching and promoting golf to the African American community.

Register at www.aagolfexpo.com/register-here to attend the EXPO and make your room reservations.

(WASHINGTON, D.C.)–NAACP President and CEO, Derrick Johnson, along with a cohort of NAACP leaders will travel with a delegation of 40 young students on a transformative journey to Ghana as part of the Amos C. Brown Fellowship, from July 31 to August 10.

The fully funded 10-day experience will lead 40 young scholars ages 18 and 25 from the United States to Ghana. The students will be immersed in Ghanaian culture, gain deep insights into their ancestral heritage, learn about the historical connections between decolonization and the Civil Rights Movement and discuss current global social justice movements. 

The program is the first of its kind to be powered by the NAACP. Selected from a highly competitive pool of applicants, the fellows, current college students and recent college graduates come from communities across the country from New York, Georgia, and California to Michigan, Utah, and Texas. For many, this journey is their first visit to the Continent. The experience will prepare them to be global-minded social change agents on issues such as health equity, legal advocacy, education, and economic empowerment. 

The program is in collaboration with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 

The Amos C. Brown Fellowship is taking place three years after the NAACP led another delegation of more than 300 people to Ghana for the country’s Year of Return experience. In 2019, the Jamestown to Jamestown journey took participants of all ages to Ghana to retrace the path of Africans who were sold into slavery from the year 1619 and the centuries that followed.

Building on relationships formed during that journey, the NAACP continues to strengthen its ties with Ghana, and the African diaspora at large. 

“In the years since the Year of Return and the social uprisings in 2020, it has become ever more apparent that the global Black community must use our collective strength, power, and resilience to fight against oppression at every level, and at every corner of the world,” said Derrick Johnson, NAACP President, and CEO. “NAACP remains committed to leading that charge and will do so by providing more opportunities for business investments, diaspora partnerships, and cultural experiences such as the Amos C. Brown Fellowship.”

Over the past three years, the NAACP has become increasingly invested in the African community, highlighting its music and culture through the NAACP Image Awards, and advocating for immigrant rights through its landmark supreme court win in NAACP v. Trump, which solidified the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

In 2020, the NAACP was one of the first major U.S. civil rights organizations to lend its support to the #EndSars movement, which spoke out against police brutality in Nigeria.

The Amos C. Brown Student Fellowship to Ghana is the first program of its kind to be powered by the NAACP, in collaboration with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.https://t.co/yAl4tQy02P pic.twitter.com/ywmHj4a730

— HU Center for African Studies (@HUCenterAfrica) March 1, 2022

About NAACP

Founded in 1909 in response to the ongoing violence against Black people around the country, the NAACP is the largest and most pre-eminent civil rights organization in the nation. We have over 2,200 units and branches across the nation, along with well over 2M activists. Our mission is to secure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons.

NOTE: The Legal Defense Fund – also referred to as the NAACP-LDF was founded in 1940 as a part of the NAACP, but separated in 1957 to become a completely separate entity. It is recognized as the nation’s first civil and human rights law organization and shares our commitment to equal rights.

Brooklyn, NY – after a 2-year hiatus, the Original Tee Golf Classic (OTGC) returned to Wild Turkey Golf Club at Crystal Springs Resort in Hamburg, NJ. 

In celebration of its first in-person post-pandemic outing, OTGC introduced an inaugural Ryder Cup style, match play format that featured two-on-two matches within every foursome to win points for their team contributing to an overall win. The full field of golfers were broken down into 2 teams – OTGC’s 2022 honoree, Alonzo Mourning’s Miami Heat, and NBA Legend John Starks’ New York Knicks. Presided over by USGA official Lisa Lifer and PGA professional Rashad Wilson, in true OTGC fashion, the basketball legends teamed up to go head-to-head for an ultimate 18-hole matchup, with Mourning’s Miami Heat taking home the prize.   

OTGC also featured an elite, professional golfer match. Taking the green for a hefty purse where Louis Kelly, New Jersey 2022 Open Title winner, Lakareber Abe from University of Alabama, Olajuwon Ajanaku, graduate of Morehouse and founder of Eastside Golf and Sadena Parks of the LPGA.

In addition to its star-studded competition, OTGC teamed up with Nike, PGA Tour, LPGA, and PepsiCo in presenting its OTGC Fresh Classic. Led by PGA Professional Gavin Parker, the youth experience fashioned and created by Nike, provided 27 junior golfers of all ages an opportunity to have fun, develop skills, compete, and win prizes. Parker was named Best Young Teacher in America by Golf Digest. 

The festive weekend ended with OTGC annual honors dinner. Hosted by comedian Alex Thomas, in celebration of its 23rd anniversary the premier celebrity/amateur and professional tournament presented NBA Legend Alonzo Mourning with its prestigious True Original Award. “I really am humbled and honored to be recognized for the thing that I truly care about, and it’s not basketball,” said Mourning. “One of the words I hear used quite a bit is community. Community is important to me because we don’t grow in isolation. We don’t grow by ourselves.  We grow in community.” 

In addition to receiving the True Original honors, sponsor ClubCar feted Mourning with a custom-designed Onward ClubCar during his stay, Arcis Golf, the premiere owner, operators of one of the largest collection of properties, resorts, and public golf clubs, presented Mourning with a certificate entitling him to two foursomes at one of their stateside locations. Moet Hennessy co-sponsored the sponsor dinner and welcome party and presented the NBA legend with a personal engraved bottle of Hennessy Paradis.

Original Tee is a culture club that amplifies inclusion in golf by preserving the history of the game’s diverse Black pioneers and celebrating other iconic golf enthusiasts who are ambassadors of excellence. Launched in 2000, by marketing entrepreneur Wendell J. Haskins, the Original Tee Golf Classic reflects the unprecedented convergence of the worlds of golf, business, fashion, and entertainment through a multi-channel approach that excites the masses and welcomes newcomers of all ages to the game.

 PHOTOS BY MARGOT JORDAN