Houston-native Kendall Jackson is headed to Howard to join their inaugural Women’s Golf Class and she couldn’t be more excited.
According to Because of Them We Can, the Pearland resident was just six-years-old when she first started playing with the First Tee of Greater Houston. While she enjoyed First Tee, she didn’t always love the game of golf.
“At first, I’m going to be honest; I did not like golf at all. First Tee itself was great, golf itself, I did not like it. It was boring, it was slow, and I would rather be at home watching TV…[But] each time you get to the next level, more and more doors and more and more opportunities opened up. When I got into high school, I was 100 percent focused. I knew I wanted to go…to college on a golf scholarship,” Jackson said in an interview.
Jackson was like many athletes that had to face the uncertainty of 2020 recruitment.
“I knew I was a good player and had the ability and opportunity play Division 1 but it seemed like every time I reached out to somebody they either were full or they didn’t know how their schedule was going to look like because of 2020 or seniors coming back,” she said.
Yet, Jackson didn’t know that Howard University was going to be the school.
The university had recently received a generous donation from NBA great and avid golfer, Steph Curry to reignite their golf program.
And now, Jackson will join the inaugural women’s golf class at Howard in the fall with the mission in mind to show other young black girls that golf is an athletic option as well.
“There’s not that many of us so I want to be able to show people and inspire people that you don’t have to just take this volleyball or basketball,” the 18-year-old said in an interview with Golf Week, “that you can play golf as well.”
Jackson plans on studying business finance. Congratulations, Kendall. We cannot wait to see you on the golf course!
