The 2013 PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship field has been announced, and currently features more than 200 participants, who will compete, May 10-12, at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. The 54-hole, stroke-play event will consist of four team divisions — NCAA Men’s Division I, II and NAIA as well as a Women’s Division.
In addition to the team competition, the PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship features a men's and women's Individual Invitational that is open to collegiate golfers who are African-American, Hispanic-American, Native or Alaskan American, Asian or Pacific Island American.
Four division champions will look to defend their titles in the 27th edition of this National Championship. Justin Watkins from the University of Central Oklahoma (Men's Individual), the University of Texas-Pan American (Division I Men's), Bethune-Cookman University (Women's Division) and Fayettville State University (Division II Men's) will all return to PGA Golf Club in 2013.
Bethune-Cookman University's women's team will be seeing their Championship-record ninth title, Fayetteville State University their eighth division crown, and Texas-Pan American their sixth men's Division 1 title.
Ariel McNair of Xavier University, the Women's Independent Division champion in 2012, will not participate in this year's Championship. In addition, there was no NAIA competition held in 2012.
Brown Capital Management will mark its third year as the presenting sponsor of the Championship. They will also remain the presenting sponsor of the Championship's one-hour Golf Channel highlight show scheduled to debut Wednesday, July 3 at 9:00 p.m. ET.
The Business of Golf Career Expo, which remains a staple of the Championship, features golf industry associations and companies that enable student-athletes to learn about additional employment opportunities in manufacturing, media, trade, golf course management and the game's premier governing bodies, will take place again in 2013.
About the PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship
The PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship presented by Brown Capital Management originated in November 1986 following the Jackson State University Golf Tournament and has elevated golf in minority colleges and universities by providing opportunities to more players to compete in a national championship.
The 1986 organizational meeting brought together a significant group of founders: the late Dr. Herschel Cochrane; Dr. Joe D. Saunders of the National Negro Golf Association; Jackson State University Golf Coach Eddie Payton; Rose Harper-Elder of the Sports Management Institute; and William (Bill) Dickey, founder of the Bill Dickey Scholarship Association and recipient of the 1999 PGA Distinguished Service Award. The founders' goal was to provide a national stage for players from minority colleges and universities after being denied opportunities to compete in NCAA Collegiate golf events.
The inaugural Championship was conducted in the spring of 1987 at Highland Park Golf Course in Cleveland, Ohio. Since 1998, PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla., has been host to the Championship, and in 2006, The PGA of America was granted complete ownership and management of the Championship by the National Minority College Golf Scholarship Fund.
In 1990, a Career Fair was conducted for the first time in conjunction with the national Championship to provide corporate sponsors the opportunity to interview and recruit outstanding college students for future employment. As a result, the Career Fair has developed into an invaluable resource to assist students in gaining internships and full-time positions within the golf industry.
In 2008, the Championship featured a record number of participants, with nearly 200 students from 47 schools, with representatives from 14 countries.
In 2011, The PGA of America announced that Brown Capital Management., an investment management firm based in Baltimore, Md., had become the presenting sponsor of the PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship and the one-hour Golf Channel Highlight Show.
About The PGA of America
Since its founding in 1916, The PGA of America has maintained a twofold mission: to establish and elevate the standards of the profession and to grow interest and participation in the game of golf. By establishing and elevating the standards of the golf profession through world-class education, career services, marketing and research programs, The PGA enables its professionals to maximize their performance in their respective career paths and showcases them as experts in the game and in the multi-billion dollar golf industry. By creating and delivering world-class championships and innovative programs, The PGA of America elevates the public's interest in the game, the desire to play more golf, and ensures accessibility to the game for everyone, everywhere. As The PGA nears its centennial, the PGA brand represents the very best in golf.