The LPGA Tour tie-dye hoodie is back! The hot-selling sensation that flew off the digital shelves when introduced in April is available again and just in time for the inaugural Renee Powell Clearview Legacy Benefit at Bobby Jones Golf Course in Atlanta the day after the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
Celebrating its 75th year, Clearview Golf Club in East Canton, Ohio is the only course designed, built, owned and operated by an African American: Bill Powell, the father of former LPGA Tour player and current LPGA Professional Renee Powell. Faced with racial discrimination after World War II, Bill built his own course by hand where everyone would be welcome.
Working with KPMG and the Mariah Stackhouse Foundation, the LPGA will help channel proceeds from the event at Bobby Jones Golf Course to the Clearview Legacy Foundation, which has begun a campaign to endow Clearview and preserve its significant part in our American history.
“At the core of the LPGA is a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion,” said Roberta Bowman, the LPGA’s Chief Brand and Communications Officer. “Renee Powell and her family play a singular role in the history of African Americans in golf. Renee is a global ambassador for the game and continues to use golf as a means for inclusion. We are proud to be part of this effort to celebrate Renee and her family and preserve Clearview Golf Club and its mission of providing a place where all people can enjoy the game.”
Proceeds from the sale of the tie-dye LPGA hoodie will go to the Clearview Legacy Foundation and the LPGA Renee Powell Fund. The hoodie can be purchased at lpgaproshop.com.
“It's been wild,” Michelle Wie West, who is the driving force behind the hoodie, said at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. “I remember calling Roberta (and saying), ‘I have this crazy idea.’ She's like, ‘okay.’ She jumped right on board from the get-go. Roberta and her team at the LPGA worked day and night trying to get this figured out. I did not make it easy for them.”
Wie West has also been instrumental in getting athletes from other sports and celebrities to help promote the hoodie.
“It's amazing when you have such a great item and especially going towards such a great cause, and seeing how everyone has supported it,” Wie West said. “The craziest thing about it is that the larges and extra larges sold out first, and they keep selling out over and over again. It's just so amazing to see the support of dads and male figures wearing it.”
Most importantly, the hoodie is helping to support the Clearview Legacy Foundation and the LPGA Renee Powell Fund.
“Having been a member of the LPGA for five decades, it gives me great pride that my association has chosen to honor two causes that are near and dear to my heart: the LPGA Renee Powell Fund and the Clearview Legacy Foundation, especially during the 75th anniversary of when my father built Clearview Golf Course,” said Renee Powell.
Everyone can participate in that support by donning a hoodie. And now they are available again at lpgaproshop.com.
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