The John Shippen National Invitational Golf Tournament: A Prelude in Black to the Detroit’s Rocket Mortgage Classic

The excitement is “on course” once again as The John Shippen National Invitational Tournament& returns to the storied Detroit Golf Club (DGC) on the city’s west side from Friday, June 21 to Sunday, June 23, 2024.& The following weekend (June 27 – 30), the Rocket Mortgage Classic will be in full swing at the DGC. & The John Shippen National Invitational Tournament was created in 2021 by Intersport in partnership with Woods and Watts Effect. & The two entities’ mission is to expand opportunities for talented amateur and professional Black golfers by removing barriers that have prevented African Americans from realizing their dreams of playing pro golf.& The John Shippen Invitational is actually a series of three golfing competitions, all of which provide opportunities for the nation’s top African American golfers to receive exemptions to compete in selected tournaments sanctioned by the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) and PGA (Professional Golfers’ Association of America). This year, all three Shippen tournaments will have “purses,” the term for prize-money paid to winning golfers and other top finishers. “Offering purses for all three of The John Shippen events is a hugely important step as we continue to support the top Black men and...