Kyra Cox Changes the Face of Golf
A young Afro-Latina golfer challenging the perception of the game as a "white male sport" to a sport for all.
WATCH KYRA AS SHE SPEAKS ABOUT HER GOLF EXPERIENCE...
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There is no difference between a black golfer and a white golfer. Everyone plays the same game on the same course.
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THE KYRA COX STORY
Anything is possible when you put your mind to it. Kyra is a determined, disciplined, and driven, twenty-one-year-old Afro-Latina golfer, who set her mind on being a successful golfer at a young age. Kyra grew up in a small, predominantly white, suburban town of Westchester, New York, where she felt like an outsider in her own town.
Kyra didn’t grow up playing golf, neither did anyone in her family. She picked up her first golf club at a charity tournament at the age of eight. All the prospective players saw her powerful swing and in her the potential for excellence. This moment jump-started Kyra’s golf career. She continued to work on her powerful swing and with the help of time, practice, and patience, Kyra began to compete in golf tournaments at her high school and around the state of New York.
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On her high school team, she was “one of the boys”, leaving her to face a lot of doubt from her competition on being a black girl playing a “male sport.” This not only made it harder on herself mentally but physically as she is pushing herself to show her male opponents that a female can also play golf. Through hard work and perseverance, she pushed herself and became the captain of the men’s golf team as a female opponent. This was the first time she realized the enormity of this accomplishment.
Kyra began receiving college recruitment letters and was actively looking at prestigious collegiate golf programs at the age of 14. She had offers from some of the best women’s golf colleges, including Columbia, Penn State, Kentucky, Wake Forest, University of Georgia, Princeton, Kansas, and Furman. There was a lot of pressure on Kyra to excel in golf as her dreams of going to college depended on it as much as the dreams of many who wanted to see her succeed and change the face of golf. Her achievements and milestones in golf have led her gaining a highly respected reputation not only within the Furman community but as well as in the North East region of the United States.
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She remembered who she was and the game changed .
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Lala Delilah
INEQUALITIES PRESENT IN GOLF
Historically, golf, a white male-dominated sport, has been closed to women and people of color. But this is changing as more females are getting into intercollegiate and professional golf, challenging the status quo, and drawing attention to issues of inequality in golf, as seen in Golf Week by USA Today.
Kyra Cox is one such athlete, that questions why golf is a male-dominated sport, by stating, “If a male can do it, why can’t I”? Kyra is a female minority golfer who is not only diversifying the face of golf but also making the game of golf seem feasible for anyone to play no matter the stereotypical faces of golf culture. She is gaining more recognition from professional female golfers of color as she is showing others in the golf community and other young minority females “that anything is possible if you can put your mind to it and block out the negativity.”
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I'm proud to wear this color everyday.
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Serena Williams
CAREER ACHEIVEMENTS
World Amateur Golf Ranking #842
Metropolitan Junior Player of the year (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)
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Was the top-ranked player in New York by both the Polo Ranking and the Junior Golf Scoreboard since the age of 14 (2014)
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Two-time AJGA (American Junior Golf Association) winner (2015, 2017)
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3 time New York State Amateur Champion ( 2015, 2018, 2021 [ was youngest to ever win at 15])
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All-state and all-section honoree for all four years of high school on John Jay Highschool Men’s golf team, also the captain of the men's golf team (2016, 2017, 2018)
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2 time Connecticut Amateur Champion (2018, 2021)
(only female to hold two state titles in the same year and repeat it)
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Qualified and placed third in Drive Chip and Putt competition at Augusta National (2016)
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If you set your mind to it, anything is possible
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FUTURE CAREER...
As a first-generation black female, Kyra sees how minorities are marginalized in sports media. The media focuses on white athletes when it comes to covering individual sports, as our world continues to diversify. The lack of an intersectional perspective explains why media and sports culture continues to perpetuate racial and gendered inequalities are in intercollegiate and professional sports. Kyra, therefore, wants to change the way minority athletes are being covered by sports media, and her way of making that change is going into sports broadcasting. Kyra is a big fan of sports, however, she sees how biased and distorted the media coverage is when appropriately covering individualized sports. With Kyra’s possible future career in broadcasting, she hopes to change and rightfully cover minorities in individualized sports as much as team sports.
As Kyra continues to make incredible strides in her golf career, she also makes it clear that there is much more work to be done not only in the world of sports media but in our society as well. She demonstrates that Black women remain on the periphery of many sports due to race, class, and gender issues that remain to be largely unexplored as white male athletes continue to dominate sports media.
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One of my fellow competitors at a tournament wrote my name on my scorecard as ‘girl’ and refused to ask or write down my legitimate name on the scorecard.
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5 WAYS YOU CAN MAKE A CHANGE...
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Hire minority individuals in the Sports Media Industry
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Educate yourself on the racial and gender issues in sports
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Be vocal about Sexist and Racial Comments that are said
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Support other Minority Women in Athletics
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As a broadcaster, cover all athletes achievements and highlights not only the white Americans
