Renee Powell

Renee Powell (born May 4, 1946) is an American professional golfer who played on the US-based LPGA Tour and is currently head professional at her family's Clearview Golf Club in East Canton, Ohio.

She was the second African-American woman ever to play on the LPGA Tour.

The daughter of golf course entrepreneur Bill Powell, Renee grew up in Ohio and took up golf at an early age.

Three years later, in 1960, she had 30 youth tournament trophies.

By 1961, she had 50 trophies and was playing golf daily on her father's golf course.

She had won the Great Lakes Bantam Golf Tournament, the Columbiana County Open, Clearview Golf Club junior, Sixth City Ladies (three times), Tiretown Open Ladies (twice), Vehicle City tourney, and the Midwest District Junior in three consecutive years.

The Akron Beacon Journal called her the "Queen of the Bantam Golf Show."

In 1962, she was the first African American to enter the U.S. Girls' Junior.

In the junior championship, she caused an upset in winning the first round.

In 1963 she won the Akron Tire Town open for a third time.

She entered the Girls' Junior Championship again in August 1963.

In the summer of 1964, she won a "sudden death" match in the Lyle Chevrolet women's golf tournament.

She was considered a favorite in the 1964 United Golf Association (UGA) National Open and went on to take the amateur title that year.

Powell graduated from Central Catholic High School in 1964.

She went on to attend Ohio University (OU) and then transferred to Ohio State University (OSU).

At OU she was majoring in speech and hearing therapy, but changed her major to sociology when she transferred to OSU.

Powell captained the women's golf team at both universities and at OSU, her role as captain made her the first African American to lead a major university golf team.

When she wanted to play in the Ohio State Golf Association tournament, OSU backed her decision and stated that they would leave the organization if Powell was not allowed to play.

Powell competed in more than 250 professional golf tournaments.

After winning several youth amateur trophies in her teens and captaining the women's golf teams at Ohio University and Ohio State University, she turned professional in 1967.

In 1967, she joined the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA).

She became the second African American player in the LPGA.

When she was a rookie in the LPGA, she received death threats by people who did not want to see a black woman playing golf.

There were times she was not allowed to stay inside the official tournament hotels.

When she toured with Canadian golfer Sandra Post, the two would work together to ensure that Powell would be able to get a room.

Sometimes, however, Powell and Post would not be served at restaurants and left hungry.

When they were not served, Powell would joke, "I didn't want to tell you, but it's because you're Canadian."

She moved to the UK in the 1970s to further her career and joined the British PGA.

In 1977, she became the first woman to compete in a men's golf tournament.

Following her retirement in 1980, she appeared as a television commentator and became the head professional of the Clearview Golf Club in 1995.

Powell is a member of the Ohio Golf Hall of Fame.

She is also a member of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority.

In 2017, she was inducted to the PGA America Hall of Fame.

Renee Powell was born in East Canton, Ohio, where she was raised Catholic.

She began playing golf at the age of three.

Her father, Bill Powell, is the first African American to create and build his own golf course in the US.

He made miniature golf clubs for her to use as a child and was her golf teacher.

Her early life was quiet, and Powell played a number of different sports as a young person, including archery, ballet and basketball.

She helped maintain the Clearview golf course, driving a tractor.

Powell entered her first amateur tournament at the age of 12 and won her division.