October 16, 2021 | BY LELAND HARDY

Mountain Ridge Country Club, West Caldwell, NJ:  Exactly one week ago today one international superstar was flirting with the cast members of Saturday Night Live in preparation for her debut appearance on the iconic sketch comedy show of the same name, while another international superstar in the making was flirting with the cut line in her own debut appearance, i.e. her debut  LPGA Tour appearance in the Cognizant Founders Cup. 

The former is none other than Kim Kardashian.  The latter is teen golf phenom, Amari Avery.  Both ladies earned rave reviews for their respective debut appearances. Fresh from going 3-0 in last month’s Ping Junior Solheim Cup against the very best European amateur golfers the GOAT, Annika Sörenstam, could assemble, Amari, playing as an amateur, put the world’s very best golfers on notice that she is, as they say, very much the real deal and is a force with which to be reckoned.  

Perhaps as importantly, Avery put event organizers and the event’s Sponsor, international IT consulting and BPO giant, Cognizant, on notice that the likely future standard bearer of women’s golf has been well groomed to represent the game of golf with class, grace, dignity, and great skill, just as the 13 LPGA Tour “Founders,” after whom the event was named, and later the likes of the legendary Althea Gibson and Renée Powell could have only hoped for.

Avery had an admittedly rough start at the meticulously maintained par 71 West Caldwell country club.  “I was trying to get on a proverbial birdie train to start the tournament, but, unfortunately, according to my scorecard, it looks like I got on a bogey train!” Amari quipped jokingly with her infectious smile.  “It’s one thing to operate at the top of the amateur golf world where you’re extremely comfortable, but another thing entirely when you’re in a field with the world’s top ranked professionals and essentially all of the ladies you see challenging for Major Championships on TV” Avery continued.

A straight “A” student rising senior high schooler who has committed to attend the University of Southern California in the Class of 2022, Avery is a quick study and a fast learner.

That ability to shake off the opening round jitters and to learn from her opening round course management errors was on full display in the tournament’s second round.  Compared to just a single birdie in Round 1, Avery posted five birdies in Round 2,  including a jaw-dropping birdie on the par 5 18th in which she was one of a scant few golfers over all four days to reach the green in 2,   

She blasted her tee shot center cutting the fairway.  Leaving herself a midiron “approach” to within 8 feet of the pin, her exploits were the envy of every player in the feld and every patron in attendance.  Her excellently well read putt for eagle ended up just a few ball revolutions shy of the cup, forcing her to settle for birdie on the finishing hole. 

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“I’m very pleased that we didn’t repeat a single mistake on day 2 that we made on day 1” stated Amari’s father, Andre Avery, who doubled as her caddie in the tournament.  “If you look at her card, she didn’t make a single bogie in round 2 on any hole on which she made a bogie in round 1.  That’s called cleaning up one’s card, literally and figuratively, and I couldn’t be prouder of her and the way she handled herself out there” the self-proclaimed Caddie Daddy continued.   

“If I could just have read the putts better for her on 14 and 16, she’d have been in for the weekend. I’ll take those two on the chin a la Fury – Wilder III” he lamented, referring to the epic Heavyweight Championship of the World thriller.

“I want to thank the folks at Rocket Mortgage who organized the inaugural John Shippen Invitational in Detroit, my winning at which led to my earning a berth in this Cognizant Founders Cup field, and I want to thank the folks at Cognizant who were the epitome of First Class in every aspect of their operation.  I hope I get to earn my way back here again” the starlet effused.   Amari’s younger sister, Alona Avery, herself an amateur star, was in tow to take it all in as big sis acquitted herself admirably against the world’s best.

It’s now back to the books for Amari as she readies herself for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, both in the classroom and on the course. Avery and family are very cognizant of what matters most.

LELAND HARDY (@LelandHardy) is a philanthropist, entrepreneur, financier, and former professional athlete.  He is the Founder of RacialBias,org, a certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation focused on identifying and helping to eradicate bias in all of its forms wherever it is found in society,  Strivers Row Media, the crisis management and media advisory firm, and Nice Time, Inc., a key manufacturer and supplier of healthcare products to First Responders amid the Coronavirus pandemic via www.AmericanPPEsupplier.com.  Hardy is also a Board Member of Sport BLX and  is a contributing writer to leading sports and finance publications.

October 17, 2021 | BY AAGD STAFF

Lamborghini, known as one of the most iconic high-performance automobile brands in the world, is getting into the golf cart business with Kinetic Green Energy, an Indian electric-vehicle manufacturer. Plans are to start selling the carts in 2022. Lamborghini makes cars that approach speeds of 200 miles an hour; but thankfully, there is no talk from Kinetic Green Energy & Power Solution Ltd. Founder and CEO, Sulajja Firodi about giving golf carts that same capability.

Headquartered in Pune, India, the electric automobile capital of the country, Kinetic Green is in the business of providing green mobility solutions affordable to the masses. Kinetic Green is mostly known for three-wheeled electric vehicles but also has big plans to develop e-scooters.

Their new venture will create “beautifully differentiated golf carts,” Kinetic Green Chief Executive Officer Sulajja Firodia Motwani told Bloomberg Television. The golf carts will feature solar panels and plans are to also sell them to airports, hotels and resorts. The Non-government company, incorporated on June 13, 2011 is a public unlisted company and is classified as ‘company limited by shares‘.

The two companies have plans to bounce back from a tough 2020 year which saw Lamborghini sales drop 11 percent compared to 2019. Kinetic Energy almost tripled that number, seeing their revenue drop 30 percent in 2020 compared to the year prior.

Worldwide golf carts represent a reportedly $3 billion market. In April, golf cart-maker Club Car was sold to an investment firm run by Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores for $1.7 billion.

ATLANTA (Oct. 15, 2021) –  The APGA Tour returns to the Atlanta area for the second event of the three-tournament Farmers Insurance® Fall Series for the APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Atlanta Championship to be held at White Oak Golf Club at the Clubs of Peachtree City on October 17-19.

The Advocates Professional Golf Association (APGA) was established in 2010 with the mission to bring greater diversity to the game of golf by hosting and operating professional golf tournaments, player development programs, mentoring programs, and introducing the game to inner-city young people. In addition to conducting up to 14 events awarding over $350,000 in prize money annually, the APGA conducts the Player Development Program to aid young minority golfers on their path through professional golf.

Several of the Tour’s biggest names will be on-hand with youth mentoring and teaching events scheduled along with practice rounds on Sunday, October 17 and then competition rounds for the 36-hole event on October 18-19.  The tournament will showcase APGA Tour golfers Kamaiu Johnson, Marcus Byrd, Ryan Alford, Mulbe Dillard and Rovonta Young as well as a host of other standouts and up-and-coming stars.

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Byrd finished the regular season ranked No. 2 in the 2021 Lexus Cup standings in a season which included his first APGA Tour victory at the APGA Tour New Orleans. Byrd was a standout at Middle Tennessee State with multiple victories and was named Conference USA’s 2019 Player of the Year. Alford brings two APGA Tour victories this year with him having won back-to-back events at APGA Tour Scottsdale and APGA Tour Louisville.

This is the second event of the APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Fall Series, where the players are competing for $25,000, including a $7,500 check to the winner.  Another $15,000 in bonus money will be awarded to the top points earners in the Fall Series culminating Nov. 7-9, at the APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Fall Series Finale ($30,000 purse), at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles.

On Sunday, October 17, APGA Tour players will host youth participants from First Tee – Metro Atlanta at the Farmers® Advocates Foundation Youth Event, which will include a golf clinic and mental and emotional wellness conversations. Included in the program will be four members of the ClubCorp’s ClubLife Gateway Program that offers complimentary memberships to select First Tee – Metro Atlanta students. The ClubLife Gateway Program was launched by ClubCorp to help remove institutional barriers in the golf world and increase access to high-quality golf courses, training facilities and mentorship opportunities to a more diverse population.

Four standout students from First Tee – Metro Atlanta include BJ Little, Benjamin Harper and sisters Olivia and Sophie Li. These students range in age from 15-17 years old.

Little is a high school junior and has been involved with First Tee for more than eight years. He holds a 4.0 GPA and his career aspirations include running for the U.S. Senate and eventually he would like to be President of the United States. In 2020, Little struck the opening tee shot at the PGA TOUR’s TOUR Championship.

Harper, now a Junior at Drew Charter School, was a freshman on the school state championship golf team, becoming the first Atlanta Public Schools team and first team comprised entirely of African-American players to win a state golf championship.

Olivia Li has a 4.46 GPA and was recently named Georgia’s Girls’ Golf Positive Athlete for her strong academic and community giving. Olivia and her younger sister, Sophie, a standout golfer in her own right, have each dedicated time to fight against pancreatic cancer after their father passed away from the disease in 2018.

RELATED: Advocates Pro Golf Association Tour enters new diversity initiative with Farmers Insurance and PGA Tour

Miles Richardson,  17-year-old Senior at Drew Charter High School and was also a member of the state championship team. He was recently a participant in the 2021 PGA TOUR PURE Insurance Championship, held at Pebble Beach.

Marcus Leonard, 16, and a junior at Drew Charter High School is the third member of the group from the schools state championship squad. He will be  apart of the inaugural First Tee National Championship to be held at Clemson University in 2021, and was selected as the male participant to hit the Hope Tee shot at the 2021 Tour Championship.

All of these incredible young First Tee participants have recently been introduced to the Gateway Program where they receive memberships to local private ClubCorp facilities to continue to advance both on and off the golf course.   

The APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Fall Series is the latest in a series of actions Farmers has taken to help advance its commitment to diversity and growth in the game of golf. The national insurer has provided funding for APGA Tour events and the organization’s athletes, sponsored players including Kamaiu Johnson and Willie Mack III, hosted the first-ever APGA event at a PGA TOUR tournament at the 2020 Farmers Insurance Open® and provided Mack with a sponsor’s exemption into the 2021 Farmers Insurance Open.

The APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Atlanta Championship will be conducted under health/safety guidelines In conjunction with regional authorities.

October 14, 2021 | BY AAGD STAFF

It was a good day for Isaiah Marseille, the 14-year-old from First Tee MET NY participant has been invited to the PURE Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach. The teenager got a chance to meet some great players and corporate sponsors at the Chevron Scholars Challenge– held during the final two rounds of the BMW Championship, resulting in a contribution of $64,000 to the Evans Scholars Foundation, which Chevron generously rounded up to $100,000.

Logan Batiste as a representative of the First Tee – Greater New Orleans, participating in the 100K Chevron Scholars Challenge at The Hay, newly designed golf course by TigerWoods. The golfer’s take-away was Chevron “Logan Batiste” First Tee Scholarship: $10,000.

RELATED: Isaiah Marseille, 14-Year-Old First Tee MET NY participant, invited to the PURE Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach

The modified scotch format of the tournament took place on holes 2, 3, 4, 5, 9 with team players taking alternate shot to completion of each hole. All players tee off #2 for the charity purse totaling $100,000 (Ten $10,000 scholarships were awarded). $20,000 (two scholarships) were awarded per hole. See details of winners at https://www.pureinsurancechampionship.com/sponsors/chevron-challenge/

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October 14, 2021 | BY AAGD STAFF

After 8 months following his car crash Tiger Woods seemed upbeat and resilient, standing tall when spotted last weekend out on the golf course. The great golfer is still ongoing rehab for the multiple injuries he sustained to his right leg back in a car crash back on February 23 near Rolling Hills Estates — about 30 miles southwest of Los Angeles, when he lost control of his SUV, crashed, and the vehicle rolled-over.

Woods purpose for being out on the course was due to him attending a junior golf competition with his 12-year-old son Charlie. The youngster has been actively competing in the sport of golf and father Woods has made it a point to try to watch his son play in as many tournaments as he can.

Most apparent was that Woods was seen wearing a long sleeve on his injured right leg, which is probably a part of his ongoing rehabilitation. The photo of Woods with his son are the first ones of him without crutches since the accident.

Importantly, Woods was seen walking with a limp, according to TMZ, and many observers were probably wondering, if, and when, the golfer will ever been seen playing in competition again himself.

?BACK ON THE COURSE — Tiger Woods was seen this weekend in Florida watching his son compete at a junior event. TW was wearing a sleeve on his right leg & golf clothes on the range with a club in hand. First sighting in quite some time. ? (Post credit: Mack Williams / Facebook) pic.twitter.com/U7Ie42ZxOE

— TWLEGION (@TWlegion) October 9, 2021