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John
Shippen, Jr., the Original
Trailblazer for Blacks in Golf,
Played in Five U.S. Opens from
1896-1902
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THE JOHN
SHIPPEN
National
Invitational
Golf
Tournament
for
Black
Golfers
to be
held in
Detroit
June
27-30
John
Shippen,
Jr., the
Original
Trailblazer
for
Blacks
in Golf,
Played
in Five
U.S.
Opens
from
1896-1902
DETROIT
-
Intersport,
in
collaboration
with
Rocket
Mortgage,
Trion
Solutions,
Dow, The
Children’s
Foundation
and
Sommer
Woods
(co-founder
of Woods
and
Watts
Effect),
announced
today
the
launch
of a new
national
golf
event:
‘THE
JOHN
SHIPPEN’
to
identify
historical
barriers
and
expand
Black
representation
in the
sport of
golf.
The
event
will be
held at
Detroit
Golf
Club
June
27-28,
with a
one-hour
TV
special
about
THE JOHN
SHIPPEN
airing
on CBS
leading
into
final-round
coverage
of the
Rocket
Mortgage
Classic
on
Sunday,
July 4.
The
event,
designed
to
showcase
Black
collegiate
and
professional
golfers,
is named
after
John
Shippen,
Jr., who
was the
first
American-born
golf
professional
and also
the
country’s
first
Black
golf
professional.
Shippen
was
bestowed
PGA of
America
membership
posthumously
in 2009.
THE
JOHN
SHIPPEN
will
invite
the
nation’s
top
amateur
and
professional
Black
golfers
to
provide
a
platform
for
heightened
opportunities
and
recognition
within
the
sport.
The
women’s
division
will
compete
in a
two-player
team
format,
with the
winning
duo
earning
an
exemption
into the
LPGA’s
Dow
Great
Lakes
Bay
Invitational
(July
14–17),
which is
also
played
as a
team
event.
The
men’s
division
will be
individual
stroke
play,
and the
winner
will
receive
an
exemption
into the
PGA
TOUR’s
Rocket
Mortgage
Classic
(July
1-4). To
ensure
that any
financial
barriers
are
removed,
THE JOHN
SHIPPEN
will
cover
all
travel
costs
(airfare
and
hotel)
for
participating
players.
“THE
JOHN
SHIPPEN
aims to
address
barriers
that
have
prevented
talented
Black
golfers
and
aspiring
business
professionals
from
realizing
their
dreams
of
playing
professional
golf or
working
in the
golf
industry,”
said
Rocket
Mortgage
CEO Jay
Farner.
“Rocket
Mortgage
is proud
to
support
this
event.”
Intersport,
in
conjunction
with
Woods,
collaborated
to
design
THE JOHN
SHIPPEN
as a
vehicle
to
provide
opportunities
that can
fundamentally
increase
diversity
in golf
on a
national
scale.
The
sport of
golf is
an $84
billion
industry
with
more
than two
million
golf-related
jobs.
However,
less
than one
percent
of PGA
of
America
club
professionals
are
Black,
and only
four
current
PGA TOUR
players
are
Black.
These
statistics
do not
reflect
a lack
of
talented
Black
golfers,
but
rather,
they
reflect
limited
access
and
resources.
Historical
barriers
for
Black
golfers
include:
affordable
and
consistent
access
to
championship
courses;
quality
golf
equipment;
top-rated
swing
coaches;
sponsorship;
and
access
to
capital
for
housing
and
travel.
“We
at
Intersport
believe
THE JOHN
SHIPPEN
will
serve as
a
springboard
from
which to
bolster
accessibility
to the
sport of
golf for
young
Black
players
and
sports
professionals,”
said
Jason
Langwell,
Executive
Vice
President
of
Intersport
and
Executive
Director
of the
Rocket
Mortgage
Classic.
“As a
national
sports
marketing
firm, we
are
fully
committed
to the
creation
and
expansion
of
opportunities
and
growth
for
Black
athletes
and
professionals,
now and
in the
future.
Through
our THE
JOHN
SHIPPEN
Sports
Business
Summit,
we will
offer
scholarships
and paid
internships
to
several
student
participants
and will
encourage
our
corporate
partners
and
sponsors
to do
the
same.”
THE
JOHN
SHIPPEN
was also
created
to
address
the lack
of Black
representation
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
for high
school
and
college
students
will be
held
virtually
June
29-30,
allowing
athletes,
influencers
and
business
professionals
to share
their
experiences
and
advice
about
how to
pursue
and
secure a
career
within
the
business
of
sports.
Summit
attendees
will be
given
the
opportunity
to apply
for paid
internships
and
scholarships
from
sponsors,
organizations
and
foundations
within
and
beyond
the
sports
industry.
“Golf
has been
an
important
part of
my life
as a
young
golfer,
as a
collegiate
athlete
and as a
professional
working
at the
PGA
TOUR,”
said
Sommer
Woods,
Co-Founder
of Woods
and
Watts
Effect,
Tournament
Lead for
THE JOHN
SHIPPEN
and
Volunteer
Vice
Chair of
the
Rocket
Mortgage
Classic.
“Collaborating
on THE
JOHN
SHIPPEN
affords
Woods &
Watts
Effect
the
opportunity
to
address
an issue
that we
are
passionate
about,
which is
equity
in
sports.
We are
excited
about
our
partnership
with the
Rocket
Mortgage
Classic
and
Intersport,
and we
look
forward
to this
transformative
event.
This
event
can
change
the
world,
starting
with the
world of
golf.”
Rocket
Mortgage
has
signed
on as
presenting
sponsor
of THE
JOHN
SHIPPEN.
Trion
Solutions,
the
nation’s
largest
minority-owned
Professional
Employer
Organization,
has
agreed
to
become
the
first of
six
national
sponsors
for the
event.
THE
JOHN
SHIPPEN
will be
held
during
the week
leading
up to
the
Rocket
Mortgage
Classic,
the
first
PGA TOUR
event
ever
held
within
the city
of
Detroit.
The
Rocket
Mortgage
Classic
was the
most
awarded
event
during
the
2018-19
PGA TOUR
season,
being
recognized
for
three
awards,
including
the
first
“Fair
Way
Award”
for its
diversity
and
inclusion
initiatives.
John
Shippen,
Jr.
first
worked
in golf
as a
caddie
at
Shinnecock
Hills
Golf
Club in
Southampton,
New
York,
and
after
playing
in his
first of
six U.S.
Opens in
1896,
was
hired as
the golf
professional
at the
Maidstone
Club in
East
Hampton,
New York
later
that
year.
Shippen
later
worked
as a
golf
professional
at
Aronimink
Golf
Club
near
Philadelphia
and
spent
the
majority
of his
working
life at
Shady
Rest
Golf
Course
in
Scotch
Plains,
New
Jersey -
the
first
African-American
owned
and
operated
golf
club in
the
United
States -
where he
served
from
1924-1960.
The John
Shippen
Memorial
Golf
Foundation
was
founded
in 1995
by
Thurman
and Ruby
Simmons
in
Scotch
Plains.
They
began
studying
his
legacy
in 1988
and have
spent
more
than 30
years
elevating
Shippen’s
name and
recognizing
his
place in
American
history.
In
addition
to
funding
paid
internship
and
scholarship
opportunities,
a
portion
of the
proceeds
from THE
JOHN
SHIPPEN
will be
donated
to The
John
Shippen
Memorial
Golf
Foundation.
For
updated
information
on THE
JOHN
SHIPPEN,
please
visit
www.TheJohnShippen.com
and
follow
us on
Facebook
and
Instagram
(@TheJohnShippen)
and on
Twitter
(@TheJShippen).
For
information
about
sponsorship
opportunities
or how
to get
involved,
email us
at
thejohnshippen@intersport.net.
Advertise With Us:
Certified Minority Business Enterprise
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