Maria Smith (Photo UTS Sports)
(March 29, 2019) — When Augusta National called to extend an invitation to the first women’s event ever staged at the iconic club, Mariah Smith took off her shoes, climbed on top of the pool table at her dorm – putter in hand – and jarred one into the corner pocket.
Of course, that Snapchat video came after she’d dried her tears and phoned her overjoyed parents, who kept calling her back throughout the day to reiterate the magnitude of the news. Kevin Smith had already delivered the “next year” speech to his eldest daughter, believing that the Augusta National Women’s Amateur goal would have to wait until 2020.
But when the special invitations came out, the ones chosen by the championship committee, there was Smith, an up-and-coming University of Tennessee sophomore slated to compete April 3-6.
- WHO’S IN? Augusta National Women’s Amateur field
“It was kind of like the last call that I expected to get,” she said.
When Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley announced the creation of the ANWA last spring, he called it an extension of the club’s mission to create role models who will inspire young girls and boys to take up the game.
“I think focusing on amateur golf is consistent with our history, with our founder, our co‑founder, Bobby Jones,” said Ridley, who won’t address the media again until Masters week. “We also feel that that is the way that we can make the greatest impact in growing the game, and in this particular instance the women’s game.”
Ridley’s intent from the start was to add diversity to the inaugural field where possible. That diversity is evident in where the invitees hail from – Russia, Colombia, New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, Canada, Malaysia – and in Smith, the only African-American in the 72-player field.
“I do want to help make a difference and prove to everyone that it doesn’t matter where you’re from, what race you are,” said Smith, who is also Puerto Rican. “That you can excel at whatever you put your mind to.”
Yvette Smith bought her athletic husband a set of golf clubs as somewhat of a joke for his 40th birthday. She knew golf could be a stress-reliever for the former Marine, but she didn’t count on what it could do for 12-year-old Mariah.
Mariah Smith (second from left) with her younger sister Trinity, mom Yvette and dad Kevin.
Kevin didn’t have anyone to play with, so he went to Dick’s and bought a starter set for Mariah. Onlookers at the range that first day wanted to know how long she’d been playing.
“You see that box over there on the ground?” Kevin asked.
When Mariah, 20, started out at her local First Tee chapter in Clarksville, Tenn., she was the only black player there.
At one of the first tournaments Mariah competed in, Kevin recalled a time when someone pulled all the kids off the practice area for a group photo and left Mariah on the putting green.
“Perhaps they all had a bond,” Yvette said, “but nobody reeled her in. It was sad as a parent to see that.”
A sophomore at the University of Tennessee, Mariah Smith, 20, recorded two top-five finishes in collegiate play in 2018, including a T-3 finish at the Bobby Nichols Invitational and a T-4 at the Starmount Forest Fall Classic. Her summer was highlighted by winning the Tennessee Women’s Amateur Championship.
Smith captained Clarksville High School’s women’s golf team all four years of her prep career and led her team to the 2016 TSSAA Division 1 Class AAA State Championship title.
The Clarksville, Tenn., resident was born in North Carolina, where both of her parents served in the military. She’s also a musician, with experience playing both the bass clarinet and piano.
Read more by Beth Ann Nichols at GolfWeek.com
