Ginger Howard
{{short description|American golfer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox golfer|full_name=Ginger Howard|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1994|3|15}}|status=Active|yearpro=2012|nationality={{USA}}}}
Ginger Howard (born March 15, 1994){{Cite web |date=2010 |title=Previewing the U.S. Junior Ryder Cup – The U.S. Team |url=https://images.pgalinks.com/vmc/pressReleases/Jr%20Ryder%20Cup%20Profiles.pdf |access-date=2022-09-06 |website=PGA Links}} is an American professional golfer. At the age of 17, she was the youngest African American golfer to turn professional.{{Cite news |last=Aitcheson |first=Connie |date=March 2014 |title=Culture Club |work=Essence |url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pbh&AN=94346120&lang=en-gb&site=eds-live&scope=site |access-date=2022-09-06 |via=EBSCOHost}} In 2010, she was the first-ever Black golfer to play on a Junior Ryder Cup team, helping Team USA to win the title in Scotland. She later became one of four African American golfers playing in the 2016 LPGA Tour.{{Cite news |date=Winter 2015 |title=History Made as LPGA Gains More African American Golfers |work=African American Golfer's Digest |url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=119758215&lang=en-gb&site=eds-live&scope=site |access-date=2022-09-06 |via=EBSCOHost}}
Early life and education
Howard grew up in West Philadelphia,{{Cite news |last=Jensen |first=Mike |date=3 August 2011 |title=At 17, a rising talent in golf: Already a pro, she's shooting for the LPGA Tour |pages=A1,A4 |work=Philadelphia Inquirer |location=Pennsylvania |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109019488/pursuing-her-dream-teen-golfer-turns/ |access-date=2022-09-06 |via=Newspapers.com}} and was introduced to golf at the age of 6 by her father, Robert, who worked as a retail manager; her mother, Gianna, worked as a nurse. In 2003, the family moved from Maryland to Florida to be closer to better golf courses.
In Florida, Howard was home-schooled in the mornings with her younger sister Robbi, and then coached at the IMG Academy in the afternoons. She later turned down offers from Duke University and Florida State University to focus on her professional golf career.{{Cite news |last=Bell |first=Daryl |date=August 11, 2013 |title=Ginger Howard has chance at LPGA history |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |url=https://www.phillytrib.com/sports/ginger-howard-has-chance-at-lpga-history/article_bba3f9b6-f954-5f7b-92e3-fb899cc6da69.html |access-date=2022-09-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220906033106/https://www.phillytrib.com/sports/ginger-howard-has-chance-at-lpga-history/article_bba3f9b6-f954-5f7b-92e3-fb899cc6da69.html |archive-date=2022-09-06}}{{Cite news |date=June 25, 2013 |title=For June 25, 2013 |work=CBS This Morning |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A335064927/ITOF |access-date=2022-09-06 |via=Gale OneFile}}
Amateur career
In May 2007, at the age of 13, Howard advanced through the first stage of qualifying for the U.S. Women's Open, shooting 75 in a USGA local event at Imperial Golf Club in Naples, Florida.{{Cite news |last=Henry |first=Mike |date=May 17, 2007 |title=One for the Ages |work=The Bradenton Herald |location=Bradenton, Florida |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109020452/one-for-the-ages/ |access-date=2022-09-06 |via=Newspapers.com}} She qualified for a total of four U.S. Girls' Juniors. In 2010, Howard was the runner-up at the Junior PGA Championship, losing in a three-hole play-off,{{Cite magazine |date=September 6, 2010 |title=Faces in the Crowd |volume=113 |magazine=Sports Illustrated |issue=8 |url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=53414488&lang=en-gb&site=eds-live&scope=site |access-date=2010-09-06 |via=EBSCOHost}}{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=Ann |date=August 6, 2010 |title=Isagawa Does It |page=C5 |work=The Honolulu Advertiser |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109029359/isagawa-does-it/ |access-date=2022-09-06 |via=Newspapers.com}} to earn her a spot on Team USA's Junior Ryder Cup squad.{{Cite news |last=Dill |first=Jason |date=August 19, 2010 |title=Bradenton duo will stick together at Junior Ryder Cup |page= |pages=C1,C3 |work=The Bradenton Herald |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109022414/bradenton-duo-will-stick-together-at/ |access-date=2022-09-06 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite web |last=Stutzman |first=Randy |date=August 7, 2010 |title=U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team unveiled, features 12 top boys and girls |url=http://www.pga.com/news/pga/us-junior-ryder-cup-team-unveiled-features-12-top-boys-and-girls |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505074528/http://www.pga.com/us-junior-ryder-cup-team-unveiled-features-12-top-boys-and-girls |archive-date=2016-05-05 |publisher=PGA of America}} She was the first African American junior golfer named to a Ryder Cup team. In September 2010, Team USA retained the Junior Ryder Cup title by beating Europe at Gleneagles, Scotland,{{Cite news |date=September 29, 2010 |title=Young Europeans do us proud, but it's first blood to Americans |work=Belfast Telegraph |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A238231000/STND |access-date=2022-09-06 |via=Gale OneFile}} the first time the U.S. team had won on foreign soil.{{Cite magazine |date=2010 |title=U.S. Wins Junior Ryder Cup For First Time On Foreign Soil |volume=64 |magazine=Golf World |issue=12 |url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=s3h&AN=57094456&lang=en-gb&site=eds-live&scope=site |access-date=2022-09-06 |via=EBSCOHost}}
Professional career
Howard turned professional in 2012.{{Cite web |title=Ginger Howard |url=https://www.epsontour.com/players/ginger-howard/88605/overview |access-date=2022-09-06 |publisher=Epson Tour}} During her rookie year, Howard won five Suncoast Series Pro titles,{{Cite news |last=Dill |first=Jason |date=January 28, 2016 |title=Professional attitude |work=The Bradenton Herald |location=Bradenton, Florida |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109022318/professional-attitude/ |access-date=2022-09-06 |via=Newspapers.com}} and finished first on the money list at the end of the season. She also played on the LPGA's development circuit, the Symetra Tour,{{Cite news |last=Mickey |first=Lisa D. |date=December 8, 2012 |title=Seeking to Qualify but Also to Inspire |page=SP9 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/09/sports/golf/young-pro-golfers-hope-to-inspire-other-black-women.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=2022-09-06}} where she was one of the youngest players on the circuit.
In December 2015, Howard earned conditional status on the LPGA Tour through qualifying school,{{Cite news |date=December 7, 2015 |title=Philly native gets LPGA tour card |page=D10 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109027446/philly-native-gets-lpga-tour-card/ |access-date=2022-09-06 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |last=Kern |first=Mike |date=2 June 2016 |title=LPGA dream comes true for Howard |pages=46 |work=Philadelphia Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109024988/lpga-dream-comes-true-for-howard/# |access-date=2022-09-06 |via=Newspapers.com}} becoming one of four African American women on the tour in 2016,{{Cite news |last=Cook |first=Debert |date=August 25, 2016 |title=Four Black Women Now Permeate the LPGA Tour |work=African American Golfer's Digest |url=https://africanamericangolfersdigest.com/four-black-women-now-permeate-the-lpga-tour/ |access-date=2022-09-07}} and one of eight black members of the LPGA since 1964.
At the end of 2018, Howard's seventh year on the Symetra Tour,{{Cite news |last=Juliano |first=Joe |date=May 24, 2018 |title=A course fit for the pros |page=C5 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109024277/a-course-fit-for-the-pros/ |access-date=2022-09-06 |via=Newspapers.com}} she stopped playing competitive golf to focus on rehabilitation from chronic shoulder and knee injuries.{{Cite web |date=May 7, 2021 |title=Ginger Howard: Woman with a Mission |url=https://wapt.golf/2021/05/ginger-howard-woman-with-a-mission/ |access-date=2022-09-06 |publisher=Womens All Pro Tour}}
Having returned to competitive golf, in April 2021, Howard won the Mackie Construction Ladies Professional Championship on the Women’s All Pro Tour.{{Cite news |date=April 9, 2021 |title=Howard finishes strong, wins Abilene women's pro golf event by two strokes |work=Abilene Reporter News |url=https://eu.reporternews.com/story/sports/professional/2021/04/09/howard-finishes-strong-wins-abilene-womens-pro-golf-event/7164878002/ |access-date=2022-09-06}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.lpga.com/videos/2015/2013-epson-tour-feature-ginger-howard 2013 Epson Tour Feature: Ginger Howard (LPGA video)]
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