(The Dallas Examiner) – For the fifth year, the Roland Parrish Celebrity Foundation Golf Pro/AM Golf Classic took place on Sept. 12 at the Golf Club of Dallas and featured the top African American women professional and amateur golfers in the area. It was the first African American women professional golf competition in Dallas/Fort Worth.
“We hosted it at the Golf Club of Dallas which is in the heart of Oak Cliff and it is a Black-owned business with Pastor Tony Evans of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship,” Rodney Baker, chairman and fundraiser of the golf tournament, explained.
The historic golf course was purchased by Evans and his church in 2020 to make sure it remained a part of the Oak Cliff community.
The winners included Kendall Jackson, who won first place with a scholarship of $2,000; April McCoy, who placed second with a $1,500 prize; Makalia Brown, who won $1,000 after finishing third; and Kennedi Lee, who placed fourth with a $500 scholarship.
“A lot of scholarships that have been giving out from the Parrish Charitable Foundation through organizations, partnerships, Dallas ISD, DeSoto ISD, Duncanville ISD and a lot of financial assistance from For Oak Cliff and the things we do with the MLB internship program and with the Texas Rangers Baseball Club, the pillars of the foundation is education, arts, music and health,” Baker said. “We cater everything around those pillars of the foundation.”
Roland Parrish, CEO of the foundation and Parrish Restaurants and former athlete who competed in track and field and other sports during his college years, encouraged the ladies to pursue their dreams in golf and reach for their highest goals.
“We did this for fundraising purposes because we like to give back to the community and we like to hold it in the community, which is a Black owned golf course and it ends up being a lot of fun, camaraderie and fellowship,” Parrish said. “We also like to provide opportunities to open doors for underserved communities – the Black, the Brown – so they can live the American dream and if we can provide something to where we can open the door for someone, we like to do it.”
In 2024, the foundation awarded more than $300,000 in scholarships and financial assistance to students in the state of Texas and this year’s tournament featured a professional competitive skills stroke play by four of the African American female golfers, according to the foundation.
“One of the main keys is number one that Mr. Parrish really focuses on is education, and I think that taking that very seriously is one of the main things I would say is important because one of his favorite quotes is “Education is the greatest equalizer” and then also he wants to ensure that all people, especially people of color have the opportunity to live the American dream,” Baker stated. “And you are able to live that American dream through education and scholarships.”
Each of the lady golfers spoke with Hall of Fame African American female golfer Renee Powell, who is the second Black woman to play on the LPGA Tour in 1967. She encouraged them to finish the tournament strong at Hole No. 3 Par 3 during the competition.
“This was the best tournament for this particular event because we raised over $125,000 which 100% of the donations and sponsorships raised goes towards scholarships and financial assistance to students all across North Texas,” Baker concluded. “We had a lot of new sponsors this year and just a lot of activations and interactions with several companies all across the Dallas/Fort Worth area.”
Furthermore, celebrity athletes such as Dallas Mavericks Mark Cuban, who was the title sponsor; NFL glory Ed “Too Tall” Jones; and Everson Walls, as well as a total of 144 golfers worked in unison to offer a platform for women to practice and play the game of golf at the highest level.