“There is some isolation for Black players. “I knew what we were getting into with golf,” he said. He added that she was overwhelmed with “not only the number of Black players, but the number of really good Black players" at the Mack Champ Invitational. Reagan has been competing for six years, her dad said. To see Black and minority golfers everywhere. “We rarely ever see other Black golfers at the events my daughter competes. “I was touched by this event,” Henderson, who is in the Army, said. That includes Patrick Henderson, who accompanied his daughter, Reagan, 13, to the event and said he was “overwhelmed” by the experience. Roberts said parents were also feeling emotional watching their own children participate in a tournament like this. Minority junior golfers came from 26 states, Canada and Costa Rica to compete. It does something to know they aren’t the only ones going through that." So to see them blossom and talk to each other, build relationships, that was special and will be important to them because it can be lonely when they are playing in these tournaments. "When these Black kids play, they see zero kids who look like them, or maybe one, very seldom two. "We needed to keep this opportunity alive," Champ added. Jeff Champ saw it as an opportunity to “fill in that important gap,” he said. The Bill Dickey Invitational has provided a similar space for young Black golfers and golfers of color since 2000, but it did not take place in 2020. Roberts said watching the children play together and develop friendships and “seeing that mass amount of diversity, that mass amount of Black people, Black youths, on a golf course - thinking about it gives me chills.” Caila Roberts served as Tournament Director of the Mack Champ Invitational. Among competitive golfers - including youth players - that figure drops to 1.5 percent. So these young players never get that opportunity to play against and with each other or be around each other on a golf course - ever.”Īccording to the National Golf Foundation, only 3 percent of recreational golfers are Black. “It’s no secret that there’s a lack of diversity in golf.
She served as the tournament’s director and worked closely with Jeff Champ to coordinate the event. “As a woman and person of color, it was really special for me,” said Caila Roberts of the American Junior Golf Association.
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