Scholarship recipients announced at PGA Minority Collegiate Golf event

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Ten students were selected to receive a PGA/State Farm Insurance Scholarship as part of the 26th PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship presented by Brown Capital Management.

Each year, students from participating schools in the Championship are able to apply to receive scholarship awards from State Farm Insurance for their academic excellence at their respective institutions. The selection committee considered the student's GPA and also awarded based on community service and their passion for the game of golf. The scholarship recipients' combined GPA average was 3.85.

The announcement was made at the Championship Welcome Dinner, May 10.

"It was exciting to award very deserving student-athletes with scholarships from State Farm Insurance," said PGA of America President Allen Wronowski. "These student-athletes are to be commended for their efforts both in the classroom and on the golf course."

The following students were selected to receive a $1,000 State Farm Scholarship:
Robert Grant, sophomore, Alabama State University
Aaron Burton, sophomore, Adelphi University
Cheryl Chua, sophomore, South Carolina State University
Julio Andres Gonzales-Galvan, sophomore, Louisburg College
Malcolm Parrish, junior, Morehouse College
Luis G. Colon-Gonzalez, freshman, Texas Southern University
Kaitlyn Schwartze, senior, Lincoln University
Zachary Sheets, senior, Winston-Salem State University
Ariel McNair, sophomore, Xavier University
Jordan Buchanan, junior, Benedict College

The PGA of America also announced additional scholarship winners for the John Cash, Cliff Wallace and Earnie Ellison Scholarships for 2012:

John Cash Scholarship:
Iman Ellis, senior, Hampton University

Cliff Wallace Scholarship:
Anthony Phipps II, sophomore, Florida A&M University

Earnie Ellison Scholarships:
Shanequa Valentine, sophomore, Prairie View A&M University
Richard Sheppard, sophomore, University of Maryland-Eastern Shore

The PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship
The PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship presented by Brown Capital Management originated in November 1986 following the Jackson State University Golf Tournament and has elevated golf in minority colleges and universities by providing opportunities to more players to compete in a national championship.

The 1986 organizational meeting brought together a significant group of founders: the late Dr. Herschel Cochrane, Dr. Joe D. Saunders of the National Negro Golf Association; Jackson State University Golf Coach Eddie Payton; Rose Harper-Elder of the Sports Management Institute; and William (Bill) Dickey, founder of the Bill Dickey Scholarship Association and recipient of the 1999 PGA Distinguished Service Award. The founders' goal was to provide a national stage for players from minority colleges and universities after being denied opportunities to compete in NCAA Collegiate golf events.

The inaugural Championship was conducted in the spring of 1987 at Highland Park Golf Course in Cleveland, Ohio. Since 1998, PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla., has been host to the Championship, and in 2006, The PGA of America was granted complete ownership and management of the Championship by the National Minority College Golf Scholarship Fund.