As part of the LPGA Tour’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the Epson Tour announced that this year three tournaments will showcase minority golfers by offering “Epson Tour MVP Invites.” Epson Tour MVP Invites will be selected by the respective tournament’s committee.
The Mack Champ Invitational, named in honor of Mack Champ—PGA TOUR player Cameron Champ’s late grandfather - was the first tournament to receive a Epson Tour MVP Invite. Amari Avery (Riverside, California) finished three under par to win the girls division of the inaugural Mack Champ Invitational at Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston.
“The Mack Champ Invitational was a really nice event. It hosted a lot of diverse kids and gave us all a chance to meet each other. I was to give a big thanks to Cameron and Jeff Champ for putting on the event and it eventually giving me the opportunity to play here this week,” said Avery.
Avery is no new face to golf fans. At only 8-years-old she was featured in the 2013 documentary “The Short Game,” where she competed in the U.S. Kids World Championship. She has continued to find success throughout her amateur career including a win in 2017 at the ClubCorp Desert Junior, Mission Hills Country Club. The verbal commit to University of Southern California advanced to the semifinals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship in April 2019 with Alexa Pano and competed at the second annual 2021 Augusta National Women’s Amateur. This week she will make her first start on the Epson Tour and is paired with Shasta Averyhardt and Alexis Belton.
“I was super pumped to see the pairings. I don’t know a lot of girls out here, but I am very familiar with them. I haven’t met them yet, but I have been in contact with them before. It’s going to be really exciting to meet them and get to play with them this week and pick their brains a little bit.”
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