John Shippen Women’s Invitational creating more opportunities for Black women golfers

SOUTHFIELD — Plum Hollow Country Club hosted The John Shippen Women’s Invitational presented by DOW June 2-4, which featured exhilarating golf.

According to The John Shippen website, John Shippen Jr. was the first American-born golf professional and the first Black golf professional. The goal of the John Shippen invitationals and The John Shippen Memorial Golf Foundation is to create opportunities for Black men and women in golf and to fundamentally increase diversity in golf nationally.

The annual John Shippen invitationals began in 2021. The winner of each event also receives an exemption into future PGA Tour or LPGA Tour events.

“When we first started this event, a lot of it was based off of Rocket’s commitment when they brought the PGA Tour to Detroit the first time,” The John Shippen tournament lead Sommer Woods said. “The Shippen birthed out of that … and southeastern Michigan has a significant representation of African Americans and people of color. Black golf is strong here in metro Detroit.”

That point is proven by the increase in interest year after year for the invitationals. Now, five years in, the public is making it a point to return every summer.

“They’re always excited to come out and to volunteer and to watch the players. Every year people are like, We can’t wait to come back.’ That’s pretty cool,” Woods said. “For the golfers, they (get to) play on these championship courses and compete as well.”

Bailey Davis, Anita Uwadia, Lakareber Abe and Staci Pla finished in the top four, respectively, in the event.

“It was amazing. … We had support. People came out to watch the ladies and walk around with the ladies,” Woods said. “The ladies obviously always come to play … and we were really excited to have a diverse group of women from HBCUs and SEC schools and representation from all over the country as well.”

This was the first time the women’s event was held at Plum Hollow Country Club.

“The membership was great, the staff was great and it was a beautiful location,” Woods said. “They were willing to say, ‘Whatever you need, let us know.’ We could not have asked for a better partner with Plum Hollow.”

In this year’s invitational, University of Tennessee golfer Bailey Davis became the first amateur to win the women’s event.

“Yeah, it was awesome. You know, it’s an event I try to play in every year. … It’s around my peers and friends and so I really wanted to win it this year,” Davis said at the 2025 Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give press conference. “My game felt really good and so I’m super excited I was able to pull it off.”

Davis is someone who is a rising star in the sport and is vocal about how important The John Shippen events are to the game of golf going forward.

“I think it’s really important to see people that look like you and that you can relate to,” Davis said. “All the girls in the field look like myself. So, I think it’s just important to have that representation.”

Woods agreed that representation is one of the goals of the events so that the next generation can watch a more inclusive and diverse version of the game of golf.

“Girls that are younger can see us and see that this is a game for us as well,” Davis said.

At press time, Davis was exploring her options but could make the transition to professional golf this calendar year.

The John Shippen National Invitational presented by Rocket men’s field will compete June 21-22 at the Detroit Golf Club. The winner will receive an exemption into the PGA Tour Rocket Classic June 24-29. To learn more about The John Shippen. visit thejohnshippen.com.