{"id":98746,"date":"2022-02-16T12:26:40","date_gmt":"2022-02-16T18:26:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=98746"},"modified":"2022-02-16T12:26:40","modified_gmt":"2022-02-16T18:26:40","slug":"genesis-invitational-blazes-new-path-with-college-golf-inclusivity-initiative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/genesis-invitational-blazes-new-path-with-college-golf-inclusivity-initiative\/","title":{"rendered":"Genesis Invitational blazes new path with college golf inclusivity initiative"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Steven Gorgei<\/strong>
\nMedill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES \u2014<\/span> The Genesis Invitational is an event that honors Charlie Sifford, the first Black golfer on the PGA Tour, with a photo near the first tee and a tournament exemption in his honor. Now, in the centennial year of Sifford\u2019s birth, the event held at Riviera Country Club has introduced the Pathway Player program in an effort to diversify the game of golf.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Pathway Player initiative provides a player with a minority background an opportunity to compete in the tournament\u2019s Collegiate Showcase, a better-ball pro-am event that groups a professional golfer, a college golfer and two amateurs together. The college golfer with the lowest individual score earns an exemption into the Genesis Invitational\u2019s main field, while the best team score earns a $50,000 donation to the school\u2019s golf program. The Pathway Player receives entry into the event and travel to the tournament for him and his program. Tournament organizers also plan to partner with the selected player to invest in causes that improve access to the game of golf.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking to help provide golfers with opportunities,\u201d Genesis Invitational tournament director Mike Antolini said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to look to see how TGR Live and the Genesis Invitational sends support to not only the players and potentially the programs based on the need and impact these players represent. But also, how we can look, whether it\u2019s supporting HBCU golf programs or the APGA collegiate players, to really just do our part to quite literally support the paths for these young, young players.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2009, the event created an exemption into the main tournament field for a golfer representing a minority background. In 2017, the exemption was named the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption. But even with the exemption, this year\u2019s 120-person field includes just three Black participants. In a continuing effort to diversify the sport, tournament organizers looked to the college ranks, where in 2021 just 2% of men\u2019s golfers were Black, according to the NCAA\u2019s demographics database, and created the Pathway Player program to support minority golfers with professional aspirations.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDiversity is great for everything,\u201d said Ethan Mangum, a William & Mary graduate student who became the first Pathway Player on Monday. \u201cThese type of opportunities are important because it opens up the door for a lot of people that never might have had an opportunity to be one round away from the PGA Tour.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As the event looked for Pathway Player candidates, Mangum became an obvious choice. William & Mary had expressed interest in the event and held an intrateam competition throughout the fall to see who would represent the school at Riviera. Mangum won the event, and he became a clear choice as the Pathway Player for a variety of reasons.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“As we looked at Pathway Player candidates, everything that Ethan embodies not only on the course, but off the course with academics as well, he really kind of rose to the top,\u201d Antolini said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Both academic and athletic success are nothing new to Mangum, a master of public policy candidate who was named to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference All-Academic Team as a senior at Florida A&M and will be participating in a British Parliament internship program next academic year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Athletically, Mangum won the 2021 MEAC individual men\u2019s golf title and led the Rattlers to their first team conference championship and an NCAA regional berth. Mangum said his passion for golf is driven by the exposure and success he had at a young age.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI actually started off playing golf when I was 2 years old,\u201d Mangum said. \u201cI fell in love with it very young. I competed in my first event when I was\u00a0 5 years old, and I actually won. So for me, I\u2019ve always been a part of golf.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Although Mangum finished tied for 11th in the 17-player Collegiate Showcase, the day still felt special for him.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the type of day that I\u2019ve been looking forward to my entire life,\u201d Mangum said. \u201cIt was awesome out there today. I mean, the conditions were impeccable. Not a cloud in the sky, as you can see.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Sifford Memorial Exemption and the Pathway Player initiative are intended to make the Genesis Invitational more accessible to minority golfers at the highest levels of the sport, but improving inclusivity in youth golf is also a focus for both Antolini and Mangum.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Expanding golf academies that immerse children of all backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses in the game of golf is critical to this effort, according to Mangum. Working to create more academies like these in the United States is something that Mangum would like to do once he starts his professional career. Antolini plans to work with Mangum and future Pathway Players to understand their journey and identify opportunities to improve inclusivity at various levels of golf.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“As we know, a lot of these kids, they just need an opportunity,\u201d Antolini said. \u201cIt\u2019s really about finding and providing those opportunities, and when the necessary support aligns itself with that, that\u2019s when really the magic happens.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Steven Gorgei is a sports media graduate student at Medill. You can follow him on Twitter at\u00a0@GorgOnSports.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Steven Gorgei Medill Reports LOS ANGELES \u2014 The Genesis Invitational is an event that honors Charlie Sifford, the first Black golfer on the PGA Tour, with a photo near the first tee and a tournament exemption in his honor. Now, in the centennial year of Sifford\u2019s birth, the event held at Riviera Country Club […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":824,"featured_media":98750,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5201,31,5212,5155],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-medill-explores-2022","category-sports","category-la-sports-2022","category-winter-2022"],"yoast_head":"\nGenesis Invitational blazes new path with college golf inclusivity initiative - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/genesis-invitational-blazes-new-path-with-college-golf-inclusivity-initiative\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Genesis Invitational blazes new path with college golf inclusivity initiative - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Steven Gorgei Medill Reports LOS ANGELES \u2014 The Genesis Invitational is an event that honors Charlie Sifford, the first Black golfer on the PGA Tour, with a photo near the first tee and a tournament exemption in his honor. Now, in the centennial year of Sifford\u2019s birth, the event held at Riviera Country Club […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/genesis-invitational-blazes-new-path-with-college-golf-inclusivity-initiative\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-02-16T18:26:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/02\/Mangum-Picture-Resized.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1100\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"825\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"stevengorgei2022\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"stevengorgei2022\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/genesis-invitational-blazes-new-path-with-college-golf-inclusivity-initiative\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/genesis-invitational-blazes-new-path-with-college-golf-inclusivity-initiative\/\",\"name\":\"Genesis Invitational blazes new path with college golf inclusivity initiative - Medill Reports Chicago\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/genesis-invitational-blazes-new-path-with-college-golf-inclusivity-initiative\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/genesis-invitational-blazes-new-path-with-college-golf-inclusivity-initiative\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/02\/Mangum-Picture-Resized.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-02-16T18:26:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/91c18f96bf927413f69560d59bdca966\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/genesis-invitational-blazes-new-path-with-college-golf-inclusivity-initiative\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/genesis-invitational-blazes-new-path-with-college-golf-inclusivity-initiative\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/genesis-invitational-blazes-new-path-with-college-golf-inclusivity-initiative\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/02\/Mangum-Picture-Resized.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/02\/Mangum-Picture-Resized.jpg\",\"width\":1100,\"height\":825,\"caption\":\"Ethan Mangum (left) reads Riviera Country Club\u2019s fifth green during the Genesis Invitational\u2019s Collegiate Showcase on Monday. (Steven Gorgei\/Medill Reports)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/genesis-invitational-blazes-new-path-with-college-golf-inclusivity-initiative\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Genesis Invitational blazes new path with college golf inclusivity initiative\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/\",\"name\":\"Medill Reports Chicago\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/91c18f96bf927413f69560d59bdca966\",\"name\":\"stevengorgei2022\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/11806846f941580044724eb833b5f09207a0188238b394f5713c3fb6b97d6e71?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/11806846f941580044724eb833b5f09207a0188238b394f5713c3fb6b97d6e71?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"stevengorgei2022\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/author\/stevengorgei2022\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Genesis Invitational blazes new path with college golf inclusivity initiative - Medill Reports Chicago","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/genesis-invitational-blazes-new-path-with-college-golf-inclusivity-initiative\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Genesis Invitational blazes new path with college golf inclusivity initiative - Medill Reports Chicago","og_description":"By Steven Gorgei Medill Reports LOS ANGELES \u2014 The Genesis Invitational is an event that honors Charlie Sifford, the first Black golfer on the PGA Tour, with a photo near the first tee and a tournament exemption in his honor. Now, in the centennial year of Sifford\u2019s birth, the event held at Riviera Country Club […]","og_url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/genesis-invitational-blazes-new-path-with-college-golf-inclusivity-initiative\/","og_site_name":"Medill Reports Chicago","article_published_time":"2022-02-16T18:26:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1100,"height":825,"url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/02\/Mangum-Picture-Resized.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"stevengorgei2022","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"stevengorgei2022","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/genesis-invitational-blazes-new-path-with-college-golf-inclusivity-initiative\/","url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/genesis-invitational-blazes-new-path-with-college-golf-inclusivity-initiative\/","name":"Genesis Invitational blazes new path with college golf inclusivity initiative - Medill Reports Chicago","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/genesis-invitational-blazes-new-path-with-college-golf-inclusivity-initiative\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/genesis-invitational-blazes-new-path-with-college-golf-inclusivity-initiative\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/02\/Mangum-Picture-Resized.jpg","datePublished":"2022-02-16T18:26:40+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/91c18f96bf927413f69560d59bdca966"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/genesis-invitational-blazes-new-path-with-college-golf-inclusivity-initiative\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/genesis-invitational-blazes-new-path-with-college-golf-inclusivity-initiative\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/genesis-invitational-blazes-new-path-with-college-golf-inclusivity-initiative\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/02\/Mangum-Picture-Resized.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/02\/Mangum-Picture-Resized.jpg","width":1100,"height":825,"caption":"Ethan Mangum (left) reads Riviera Country Club\u2019s fifth green during the Genesis Invitational\u2019s Collegiate Showcase on Monday. (Steven Gorgei\/Medill Reports)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/genesis-invitational-blazes-new-path-with-college-golf-inclusivity-initiative\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Genesis Invitational blazes new path with college golf inclusivity initiative"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website","url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/","name":"Medill Reports Chicago","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/91c18f96bf927413f69560d59bdca966","name":"stevengorgei2022","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/11806846f941580044724eb833b5f09207a0188238b394f5713c3fb6b97d6e71?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/11806846f941580044724eb833b5f09207a0188238b394f5713c3fb6b97d6e71?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"stevengorgei2022"},"url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/author\/stevengorgei2022\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/824"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98746"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98768,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98746\/revisions\/98768"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}