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Stackhouse returns to inspire

<div class="cms-textAlign-center">LPGA Tour star and AJGA alum Mariah Stackhouse will share her story with top junior golfers at a special dinner during the AJGA Junior All-Star Invitational at Reynolds Lake Oconee on Friday, October 11. </div>
Mariah Stackhouse KPMG 2019 stock photo.jpg

Mariah Stackhouse, former AJGA player representative and current LPGA star, will share her story with top junior golfers at a special dinner during the AJGA Junior All-Star Invitational at Reynolds Lake Oconee on Friday, October 11.

The 25-year-old was recently featured in the latest installment of the LPGA’s #DriveOn TV campaign, which looked back at her journey in golf and spotlights her significance as a role model. Stackhouse is one of the few African-Americans to achieve at all levels of her sport.

"Golf has been an integral part of my life and a gateway of opportunity, both as an amateur and now as a touring professional,” Stackhouse said. “The AJGA was such a huge part of my journey, both in golf and in life, that I wanted to lend a hand to a truly special organization. Being between 12 to 15 years old, these elite juniors, and their parents, may not yet realize how precious their AJGA experience is. I hope that I can hasten that awareness by sharing with them the things that have been valuable to me as I work toward my aspirations both on and off the golf course.”

Stackhouse, a three-time Rolex Junior All-American and four-time AJGA champion, is arguably one of the most accomplished African-American female amateurs of all time. She had an incredible junior golf career, winning more than 100 total tournaments, and earned spots on Wyndham Cup East and PING Junior Solheim Cup U.S. Teams. She was extremely involved at North Clayton High School, as a three-time Georgia 4A state champion and National Honor Society member. She earned Georgia State Golf Association Girls Player of the Year honors four times (2007-10) as well as the 2008 GSGA Women’s Player of the Year award.

The AJGA was such a huge part of my journey, both in golf and in life, that I wanted to lend a hand to a truly special organization ... these elite juniors ... may not yet realize how precious their experience is.
Mariah Stackhouse

“When Mariah was a Player Representative on the AJGA Board we were witness to her highly-competitive spirit, her wonderful public speaking skills, and her dynamic personality,” said AJGA Executive Director Stephen Hamblin. “She was only 16 and you knew she was special. I truly believe that Mariah is destined for greatness … it may come on the golf course, it may come in a corporate boardroom, or it may come in politics, but she will achieve great things.”

After junior golf, Stackhouse earned both All-American and All-Pac 12 honors four times, won four college tournaments and became the first (and only) African-American to play, and win, on a Curtis Cup team. She secured the winning putt in Stanford’s 2015 national team championship and the Cardinal finished runner-up in 2016.

The Georgia native became just the seventh African-American player to qualify for the LPGA in 2017. Professionally, she has collected four top-10 finishes, reached the top 50 on the money list, and contended for her first pro title in 2019.

The AJGA Junior All-Star Invitational is the season-ending event for the Junior All-Star Series, created in 1998 for top junior golfers ages 12-15. The 96-player field was determined by top finishes on the "Road to Reynolds", 16 qualifying events, and the Rolex AJGA Rankings. The champions of each of the 2019 Junior All-Star Series events, including KPMG Stacy Lewis Junior All-Star Invitational, and the 20 players on the 2019 Junior All-Star Team received automatic invitations.

The AJGA's Junior All-Star Series alumni include top college and professional players such as Stackhouse, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Morgan Hoffmann, Peter Uihlein, Bud Cauley, Patrick Reed, Inbee Park, Ollie Schniederjans, Matthew Wolff, Cheyenne Woods and Alison Lee.