On Sunday 24-year-old Shasta Averyhardt became the only African-American player to earn status on the LPGA Tour. Averyhardt will be just the fourth African-American woman in the 60 year history of the LPGA Tour to play as a member.
The rookie professional out of Flint, Mich., was on pace to finish inside the fully-exempt top-20 after a round of 67 on Saturday tied her for eighth. Averyhardt struggled through Sunday’s final round conditions but her 79 was good enough to keep her inside the top-30 (T22) and earn her LPGA Tour card through the Priority List Category 16.
The 6’1” Averyhardt recorded nine wins in collegiate competition while a student at Jackson State University, a historically black university in Jackson, Miss., where she graduated in 2008 with a degree in accounting. She won the 2009 Sun Coast Series event at Stoneybrook West and played in 10 LPGA Duramed Futures Tour events in 2010.