Renee Powell and Althea Gibson were the first two African-American female golfers on the LPGA Tour. In what other sport did Gibson win major championships?
Renee Powell Renee Powell (born May 4, 1946) is an American professional golfer who played on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and is currently head professional at her family's Clearview Golf Club in East Canton, Ohio. She was the second African-American woman ever to play on the LPGA Tour. Althea Gibson was the first African-American LPGA Tour member, joining in 1963. Powell joined in 1967, and played on Tour from 1967 to 1980. It was not until 1995 that another African-American woman played on the tour. LaRee Sugg played on Tour from 1995 to 1997, and from 2000 to 2001.
Women's Australian Open The Women's Australian Open is a women's professional golf tournament played in Australia, operated by Golf Australia and the ALPG Tour, long co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour (LET). Beginning with the 2012 event, it is also co-sanctioned by the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. In 2008, it was the second-richest women's golf tournament on the ALPG Tour, with a prize fund of A$500,000, and was raised to A$600,000 in 2010. With the co-sanctioning by the LPGA, the total purse was nearly doubled, and was also fixed in U.S. dollars. The purse was US$1.1 million in 2012, and increased again to its current level of US$1.2 million for 2013. Since 2011, the tournament's name has been the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open.