DETROIT (May 24, 2022) – Intersport announced today the women’s field of players committed to compete in THE JOHN SHIPPEN National Golf Invitational presented by Rocket Mortgage. The 36-hole stroke play competition for Black female professional and amateur golfers will be held May 31–June 2 at Blythefield Country Club in Belmont, Michigan.
The winner of the event will earn an exemption into the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give (June 16–19), as well as an exemption into the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, the LPGA tournament scheduled for July 13–16 in Midland, Michigan. The SHIPPEN winner will choose an alumna of THE JOHN SHIPPEN (someone who has played at least one event) to compete alongside in the Dow GLBI, which is a two-player team event. Ten of the 16 women in the field for the 2022 THE JOHN SHIPPEN National Golf Invitational presented by Rocket Mortgage are SHIPPEN alumna.
THE JOHN SHIPPEN, designed to showcase Black amateur 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.
To ensure that any financial barriers are removed, THE JOHN SHIPPEN will cover all travel costs (airfare and hotel) for participating players.
“Intersport is ecstatic about the women’s field for THE JOHN SHIPPEN National Golf Invitational presented by Rocket Mortgage said Jason Langwell, Executive Vice President of Intersport and Executive Director of the Rocket Mortgage Classic. “THE JOHN SHIPPEN continues to attract the top Black golfers, and the quality of the field in Year 2 cements our belief that THE JOHN SHIPPEN provides a platform on which these deserving players will compete, in order to impact the imbalance of access, opportunities and equity for Black golfers that has long existed in the golf industry.”
THE JOHN SHIPPEN NATIONAL GOLF INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY ROCKET MORTAGE WOMEN’S PLAYER FIELD
(Players Listed in Alphabetical Order)
WOMEN’S FIELD
Name / Age / Status / College
LAKAREBER ABE (26) – Professional (Alabama)
- 2022 LPGA Cognizant Founders Cup start
- 2022 THE JOHN SHIPPEN Shoot-out Presented by Cognizant winner
- Current LPGA EPSON Tour member
ANDRIEL AIMUA (26) – Professional (Charleston Southern)
- Current LPGA EPSON Tour member
- Current WAPT member
- T-3 2019 MN Women’s State Open
ALONA AVERY (15) – Amateur (Class of 2024)
- 2022 Mack Champ Invitational champion
- 2021 T-8 at Under Armour Albane Valenzuela Girls Championship
AMARI AVERY (18) – Amateur (Southern California)
- 2021 THE JOHN SHIPPEN Women’s Invitational participant
- 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur participant
- 2021 U.S. Women’s Open qualifier
CHRISTYN CARR (22) – Amateur (North Carolina A&T)
- 2021 THE JOHN SHIPPEN Women’s Invitational participant
- 2021 Symetra Classic Exemption recipient
- 2019 Georgia Women’s Amateur runner-up
PAIGE CRAWFORD (30) – Professional (Montana State)
- Four professional Top-10s
- 2013 BIG SKY individual champion
KENDALL JACKSON (19) – Amateur (Howard)
- 2022 Cardinal Classic medalist (College Event)
- 2021 US Girls Junior participant
- 2021 Texas State Junior runner-up
TIANA JONES (30) – Professional (South Carolina State)
- 2022 THE JOHN SHIPPEN Shoot-out Presented by Cognizant participant
- 2022 Top 10 Finish PGA Winter Series
- 7th African American female to obtain PGA Membership
AMBER KUYKENDALL (24) – Professional (Texas Southern)
- 2022 THE JOHN SHIPPEN Shoot-out Presented by Cognizant participant
- Three Time First Team All SWAC
- Five Top 25 finishes on WAPT
GEORGIA OBOH (21) – Professional
- Junior British Open African Trophy winner representing Nigeria
- African Youth Games Gold Medal winner in Botswana
- Symetra Tour rookie
SADENA PARKS (31) – Professional (Washington)
- 2022 THE JOHN SHIPPEN Shoot-out Presented by Cognizant participant
- Two professional wins
- 2015-2018 LPGA player
- Fifth African-American woman to earn her LPGA card
JADE SANDERS (23) – Professional (Alabama State)
- 2022 THE JOHN SHIPPEN Shoot-out Presented by Cognizant participant
- 2022 Jim Thorpe Invitational - T25
- 2021 Rene Powell WIG Tournament - Top 5
AMARI SMITH (21) – Amateur (Colorado Christian)
- 2021 THE JOHN SHIPPEN Women’s Invitational participant
- 2019 USGA U.S. Girls Junior Championship qualifier
- 2019 Top 5 finish at Collegiate Golfweek Invitational
MARIAH STACKHOUSE (28) – Professional (Stanford)
- Five LPGA TOUR Top 10s
- 90 LPGA TOUR starts
- Four-time college All-American
MICAA’ THOMAS (27) – Professional (SCAD)
- 2022 THE JOHN SHIPPEN Shoot-out Presented by Cognizant participant
- Four National Women’s Golf Association starts
- Five East Coast Women’s All-Pro Tour starts
ANITA UWADIA (24) – Professional
- 2021 THE JOHN SHIPPEN Women’s Invitational participant
- Symetra Tour rookie
- Junior British Open African Trophy winner representing Nigeria
Intersport collaborated with Woods and Watts Effect to design THE JOHN SHIPPEN as a vehicle to fundamentally increase diversity in golf and to create opportunities for young men and women of color in sports on a national scale.
A National Invitational committee was formed to help lead the recruitment and evaluation of players. The committee consists of more than a dozen leaders who support the advancement of Black golfers and includes coaches from HBCU schools, leaders from golf governing bodies and from men’s and women’s national golf events. The National Invitational committee is responsible for identifying the top Black professional and amateur golfers and recommending that group to the Selection Committee, which includes representatives from Intersport, the PGA TOUR, the LPGA, Woods & Watts Effect, Rocket Mortgage, Meijer and Dow. Any male or female professional or amateur golfer who identifies as Black can also submit their profile to info@thejohnshippen.com.
“We are thrilled for the ladies who have accepted our invitation to participate in THE JOHN SHIPPEN National Golf Invitational presented by Rocket Mortgage,” 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. “We are pleased that THE JOHN SHIPPEN continues to provide them with an opportunity to advance their golf careers in a way that has previously not existed for them.”
Anita Uwadia & Shasta Averyhardt won the inaugural THE JOHN SHIPPEN National Golf Invitational presented by Rocket Mortgage in 2021.
Later this summer, THE JOHN SHIPPEN National Golf Invitational presented by Rocket Mortgage will feature the nation’s top Black men competing in a 36-hole stroke play competition at Detroit Golf Club July 22–24. The winner will once again receive an exemption into the PGA TOUR’s Rocket Mortgage Classic (July 28-31).
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@intersportnet.com.
ABOUT INTERSPORT
Since 1985, Intersport has been an award-winning innovator and leader in the creation of sports, lifestyle, culinary and entertainment-based marketing platforms. With expertise in Sponsorship Consulting, Experiential Marketing, Hospitality, Customer Engagement, Content Marketing, Productions and Sports Properties, this Chicago-based Marketing & Media Solutions Company helps their clients to create ideas, content and experiences that attract and engage passionate audiences. To learn more about Intersport, visit www.intersport.global, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
ABOUT WOODS & WATTS EFFECT
Woods & Watts Effect is an equity and inclusion consulting firm of transformation engineers, co-founded by Sommer Woods and Michele Lewis Watts, Ph.D. They are a solutions-driven team that adeptly designs programs that assess a company’s strengths and areas for improvement relative to inclusion and social equity. Woods & Watts Effect is innovative in their thinking, their engagement and their execution. Through a bold, non-traditional and engaging approach, they produce viable and actionable solutions for sustainable change. More information is available at WoodsWattsEffect.com.
About Rocket Mortgage
Detroit-based Rocket Mortgage, the nation’s largest home mortgage lender and part of Rocket Companies (NYSE: RKT), enables the American Dream of homeownership and financial freedom through its obsession with an industry-leading, digital-driven client experience. In late 2015, it introduced the first fully digital, completely online mortgage experience. Rocket Mortgage closed $351 billion dollars of mortgage volume across all 50 states in 2021.
Rocket Mortgage moved its headquarters to downtown Detroit in 2010. The company generates loan production from web centers located in Detroit, Cleveland and Phoenix and operates a centralized loan processing facility in Detroit. Rocket Mortgage ranked highest in the country for customer satisfaction for mortgage servicing by J.D. Power the past eight straight years, 2014 – 2021.
Rocket Companies, Rocket Mortgage’s parent company, ranked #7 on Fortune’s list of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in 2022 and has placed in the top third of the list for 19 consecutive years.
For more information and company news visit QuickenLoans.com/PressRoom.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Solomon Hughes, 614.315.2446, shughes@intersportnet.com
Greg Ball, 760.271.9183, gregb@bzapr.com