RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — It's a beautiful day. And when it's sunny, you'll find 93-year-old Victoria Kingdom hitting golf balls in her backyard in Riviera Beach.
The Honda Classic is creating a scholarship in her name for minority kids.
"To be awarded the first one for two kids, a boy and a girl in the 2022-2023 year," said Malachi Knowles of the Inner City Youth Golfers Inc. "The scholarship will be for golf careers and essentially mirroring the life of Ms. Kingdom."
Knowles said Kingdom's love for golf started with her husband.
"In the process of learning the game of golf, she and he traveled all over the country playing these little tournaments, no lessons, none of that," said Knowles.
She was also the first African American woman to manage the locker room at PGA National, which was in 1985.
So, I met all of the pros when they came through there," said Kingdom. "I could play golf and I could tell them what a hole-in-one is and different things like that about golf."
She started to share her love for golf with kids.
"When they see someone coming up and doing pretty good in golf, they say I want to try that," Kingdom said.
"There is not a young person she'll walk by near a golf course and offer a little bit of a tip, whether it's putting or what not," said Honda Classic Executive Director Ken Kennerly. "Life is about recognizing the people that give back and she has dedicated her life not only to the game of golf but to giving back and making the people in her circle better people."
