Golfer Ebonie Cox To Compete In Elite Event
Bermudian professional golfer Ebonie Cox will compete against top professional and amateur Black female players at the John Shippen Women’s Invitational in Michigan next week.
Held at the Blythefield Country Club in Grand Rapids, the tournament features an elite 12-player field, with the champion earning an exemption into the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give and the Dow Championship in Michigan next month.
The winner of the fourth annual tournament, which runs from next Tuesday to Wednesday, will take home $13,200, with second place earning $6,600 and $2,200 awarded to the third-place finisher.
Cox, 38, won the gold medal in the women’s event at the NatWest International Island Games in Guernsey, the Channel Islands, last summer.
Notable players in the field for the 36-hole tournament include defending champion Paige Crawford, 32, and 15-year-old amateur Ashley Shaw, who won the recent John Shippen Cognizant Cup.
“We are looking forward to a terrific competition at the John Shippen Women’s Invitational, and we are proud to support an event that provides opportunities for these talented Black female golfers to advance their careers,” said Carlos Padilla II, head of global sports partnerships for Dow.
“Since this event started four years ago, we have seen some incredible stories and witnessed our champions go on to do amazing things in the world of golf.”
Since 2021, 90 of the best US Black women and men have competed in the John Shippen, which has awarded 16 playing opportunities on the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour and donated $340,000 to local charities, scholarships, and fellowships.
Intersport, a leading Chicago-based sports marketing and media agency, partnered with Woods and Watts Effect in 2021 to create the John Shippen – a series of competitions providing playing opportunities for the nation’s top Black women and men golfers.
It was created to identify historical barriers, expand Black representation in golf, and address the lack of Black representation in business and leadership roles within the golf and sports industry for people of colour.
The events are named after John Shippen Jr, the first American-born golf professional and the country’s first Black golf professional.
“It’s hard to believe that the John Shippen Women’s Invitational is already in its fourth year, and I’m just as excited about this year’s tournament as I was for the first one in 2021,” said Sommer Woods, tournament lead.
“We have an incredible field that includes some established players and others just starting to make a name for themselves.
“We are incredibly proud of the impact that this event has had on the careers of young Black golfers and how the tournament honours the legacy of Mr Shippen, and we know we couldn’t do it without the support of amazing partners like Meijer and Dow.”
