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Advocates Pro Golf Tournament Is A Stepping Stone For Black Professional Golfers
Deadpool
- A former
Special Forces
soldier (Ryan
Reynolds) who
works for a mercenary
agency is
forced to have a risky experi- ment. The experiment goes bad, but gives him accelerated healing powers turning him into Deadpool. Deadpool is on a crazy mission to find his girl- friend and destroy the pyscho villain, Ajax (Ed Skrein-The Transporter-Refueled). This film is mixed with extreme vi- olence and humor by Reynolds that makes this a Marvel classic. Must-see for action fans. Really enjoyed it! No. 1 at box office. Made $135M. Five Stars
Hail Caesar! - Directed by The Coen Brothers (No Coun- try For Old Men), this film is about a Hollywood agent in the 1950s working to keep the stars in line. You can wait for
this one on DVD. Made $21M. (Budget $22M). **1⁄2
Kung Fu Panda 3 - Com- ing off two blockbusters, Kung Fu Panda’s Po (voiced by Jack Black) must face two different threats: 1. a supernatural fighter and. 2.trying to train his family to fight. This film was surprisingly good and it moved fast from scene to scene. Must see for kids and adults. Made $94M. (Budget N/A). ****
The Boy (2016) - An American nanny is hired to be the nanny of a life-sized doll. After a few disturbing events, the nanny begins to believe the doll is alive. Had potential to be a really scary film. Dis- appointed. Made $31M. (Bud- get $10M). **1⁄2
Ride Along 2 - Produced by St. Pete native Will Packer and directed by Tim Story, Ben (Kevin Hart) and soon-to be- brother- in-law James (Ice Cube) travel to Miami to bring down a drug dealer who’s sup-
plying the dealers of Atlanta. A light comedy with a few laughs. This should be the last film for this franchise. Made $82M. (Budget $40M). **1⁄2
13th Hour: The Secret Soldiers Of Benghazi - A security team (John Krasin- ski, James Dale) are forced to defend a U. S. compound when the American Ambassa- dor is ambushed. Based on a true story, Director Michael Bay (Transformer) did a great job with this 2 hrs./40 mins. intense drama. Made $50M. (Budget $50M). ****
The Revenant - A west- ern tracker or frontier man (Leonardo DiCaprio) seeking fur back in the 1820s fights for survival after being mauled by a bear and left for dead by members (Tom Hardy) of his hunting team. A brutal and real life display of survival from the weather, In- dians, and animals. DiCaprio won best actor/drama, Ale- jandro Inarritu-best director and the film won for best movie at the Golden Globe. Amazing film work by the di- rector. 2 hrs./40 mins. long. Made $158M. (Budget $135M). ****
The Hateful Eight - Di- rector Quentin Tarantino does again with ‘The Hateful Eight’ masterpiece. The movie set during the post-Civil War de- livers extremely strong (bloody) violence, (racial) lan- guage, humor and colorful characters. Bounty hunter John ‘The Hangman’ Ruth (Kurt Russell) and his fugitive prisoner (Jennifer Jason Leigh) encounter another bounty hunter (Samuel Jack- son) and a man (Walton Gog- gins) who claims to be the new sheriff of Red Rock. Hoping to find shelter from a blizzard, the group travels to a Wyoming stagecoach stopover with four strangers inside the saloon. That’s when Taran- tino’s clever, sinister structure in a one room pressure setting takes you on a crazy ride. “The Hateful Eight’ gives you every- thing (and the kitchen sink). If you like mysteries, then this film is for you. 2 hrs./40 mins. long. Jackson and Gog- gin deliver strong perform- ances with Golden Globe or Oscar consideration. Another Tarantino’s Oscar nomination masterpiece (Django, Pulp Fiction). Made $53M U. S. / Foreign $78M. (Budget $44M). Must-see! Five stars
Concussion - Based on a true story, well-renowned pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu (Will Smith) uncovers the truth about brain damage in football player who suffers re- peated concussions in the course of playing football. Smith basically carries this film with great acting and is nominated for best actor by the Golden Globe. Very shock- ing information for parents who kids play football. Must- see! Made $34M. (Budget $35M). ****
By KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Staff Writer
It’s the year 2016 and yet the number of African Ameri- cans in golf careers – on and off the links – is still dismal.
But an annual tournament that launched at Tampa’s his- toric Rogers Park is working to change the racial makeup of the sport that was invented in the 15th century.
Approximately 50, young, African American pro golfers will visit Tampa next month to play in the first stop of the Ad- vocates Pro Tour, a tourna- ment that began in Tampa in 2010 to bring greater diversity to the game of golf. The tour sponsored 12 events in its first four years, offering more than $200,000 in prize money.
Additional tournaments will be held in Pensacola, At- lanta, and New Orleans, with the championship tournament being held in Los Angeles.
Golfers from all over the country – including Washing- ton and as far west as Port- land, Ore. – are expected to participate, said Dr. Michael Cooper, a former director of diversity for the World Golf Foundation and coordinator of the Tampa tournament.
“In our series of events, we’ve probably had the best of the best to play at an Advocate event,” he said.
That includes Harold Varner, III, who played in the tournament in 2013 at Rogers Park and last year made his debut in the PGA.
“We can’t take credit (for players joining the PGA), but whatever support we can pro- vide, that’s what we’re here for,” he said.
Dr. Cooper said in its short history, the tour has be- come a major stepping stone for Blacks aspiring to the es- teemed Professional Golfers’ Association Championship (PGA).
Getting to that level re- quires a level of money and re- sources that can be difficult for most golfers of color to attain, Dr. Cooper said.
Because the goal is to get more minorities into the sport, golfers who play the Advocates Pro Tour circuit are encour- aged to ascend as quickly as possible to the PGA.
“We tell them, ‘we don’t want you to be here long.’ We’ve got to continue to broaden and surrounding our
players with the skill sets that they need to get to that next level.”
Dr. Cooper, who is past assistant dean and campus di- rector for Springfield College’s Tampa Bay Campus, said while the Advocates Pro Tour is preparing more Black golfers for long and successful careers, the sport itself re- mains homogenous.
“It’s still male-dominated and white-dominated,” he said. “For all that we’re doing, it’s not enough. We need to hit all angles.”
Blacks largely remain “in- visible” to the leaders in the golf industry, and the input of those who have been fighting for more minority visibility in the sport and in the PGA has not been considered in diver- sity initiatives, he continued.
This year’s event in Tampa will feature a roundtable dis- cussion on improving diver- sity in the game, ‘to capture the voices of those in the trenches.’
High-ranking officials from throughout the golf industry have been invited to partici- pate in the diversity discus- sions, and representatives from the United States Golf Association have already con- firmed.
Despite the hardships, Dr. Cooper said he and others are committed to increasing the number of Black profes- sionals in the sport.
“Am I spinning my wheels? Yes and no,” he said. “But I can’t look at it that way or I’d give up. With every breath I have, I will continue to fight.”
Advocates Pro Tour events will take place from March 11- 13 at Rogers Park, 7910 N. 30th Street in Tampa.
For more information about the tournament, call Michael Cooper at (813) 495-3962 or email him at mcooper2@springfieldcol- lege.edu.
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