Sadena Parks

Last updated

Sadena Parks
Personal information
Born (1990-05-04) May 4, 1990 (age 34)
Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.
Height5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Sporting nationalityFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Career
College University of Washington
Turned professional2013
Current tour(s) LPGA Tour
Professional wins2
Number of wins by tour
Epson Tour2
Best results in LPGA major championships
Chevron Championship DNP
Women's PGA C'ship T22: 2015
U.S. Women's Open CUT: 2014
Women's British Open DNP
Evian Championship CUT: 2015

Sadena Parks (born May 4, 1990) is an American professional golfer who plays on LPGA Tour. [1] Parks became the first African American to earn her Tour card through the Symetra Tour and just the fifth African American to earn an LPGA Tour card.

Contents

Family and education

Parks was born in Raleigh, North Carolina and after her parents divorced she moved with her father to Washington. She attended Bethel High School in Spanaway and spent four seasons at the University of Washington studying American Ethnic Studies. [2] [3]

Amateur career

At the age of 9, Parks joined Classic Club, a club program for young golfers and her father also enrolled her in the Leisure Hour junior golf program in Portland, Oregon. She won the Washington State High School Championship and got runner-up place. [4] [5] [6]

Collegiate career

2008–09 (freshman)

  • Played in final seven tournaments, eight overall
  • Huskies top finisher and tied for 20th overall at the 2009 NCAA Central Regionals after shooting a 13-over-par 229
  • Recorded best round of 74 in second and third round of UNLV Spring Rebel Invite and third round of Lady Buckeye Invite

2009–10 (sophomore)

  • Played in all 11 tournaments
  • Top Husky finisher at the Pac-10 Championship, finishing 13th.
  • Huskies second-best finisher three times (Turtle Bay Invitational, Peg Bernard Classic, Longhorn Invitational)
  • Recorded best round of 70 in first round of Pac-10 Championship
  • Recorded three top-20 finishes on the year (Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational, Peg Bernard Classic, Pac-10 Championship)

2010–11 (junior)

  • Had seven top-25 finishes in 12 events this season
  • Scoring average of 76.19, ranked second on the team
  • Set women's course record at Washington National with a career-low 66 (−6) in the second round of the West Regional
  • Her 66 tied for the second lowest round ever by a Husky and was just the fourth time in UW history a golfer has shot 66 or better
  • Was UW's top finisher at the NCAA Regional placing 22nd and Pac-10 Championship, tying for 19th
  • Career-best 8th-place finish at Peg Barnard Invitational
  • Best 54-hole score 219 came in the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational at Tacoma Country Club

2011–12 (senior)

  • Played in 10 out of 12 events, missing two tournaments to concentrate on graduation studies
  • Her scoring average of 74.79 was second on the team and ranked as the 8th best average in UW single-season history
  • Was the team's top finisher in four events and was second in two others
  • Shot a career-low 66 in the first round of the 2011 Stanford Intercollegiate, a score that ties for second lowest ever in UW history
  • Shot under-par eight times during the season to lead the team
  • Had two top-10 finishes, including a career-best second place in Hawaii at the Rainbow Wahine Invitational
  • Notched a career-low score of 213 (−3) in the Rainbow Wahine Invitational
  • Shot 2-over-par 218 at the Pacific Coast Championship to lead the Huskies and tie for 17th overall
  • Was Washington's low scorer at the NCAA East Regional

Professional career

She went to LPGA qualifying school in 2012 and earned status on the 2013 Symetra Tour. She also participated in a TV reality show Big Break Florida . [7]

On the 2014 Symetra Tour, she won two events and finished fourth on the money list to earn her 2015 LPGA Tour card, only the fifth African American woman to receive a LPGA Tour card. [1]


Parks posed in ESPN The Magazine's "Body Issue" [6] in 2015. In the accompanying article, Parks shared her aspirations and how her dad got her started in golf. [8]

Professional wins

Symetra Tour wins

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karin Sjödin</span> Swedish professional golfer

Karin Sjödin is a Swedish professional golfer. She played 10 seasons on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and was in contention at the 2012 Kraft Nabisco Championship.

Tiffany Joh is an American professional golfer currently playing on the LPGA Tour and on the Symetra Tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paige Mackenzie</span> American professional golfer (born 1983)

Paige Mackenzie is an American professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Park Hee-young</span> South Korean golfer

Park Hee-young is a South Korean professional golfer currently playing on the LPGA Tour.

Anya Sarai Alvarez is an American professional golfer and writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica Korda</span> American professional golfer

Jessica Regina Korda is a Czech-American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lizette Salas</span> American golfer

Lizette Salas is an American professional golfer currently playing on the LPGA Tour.

Emma Ruth Talley is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. While playing as an amateur at the University of Alabama, she won the 2013 U.S. Women's Amateur by defeating Yueer Cindy Feng in the 36-hole final match, 2 & 1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniela Holmqvist</span> Swedish professional golfer

Daniela Yvonne Holmqvist is a Swedish professional golfer. She was in contention at the 2020 Women's British Open, holding the lead as the only player to finish under-par after 36 holes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giulia Molinaro</span> Italian professional golfer

Giulia Molinaro is an Italian professional golfer and LPGA Tour player. She tied for third at the 2021 Women's PGA Championship and represented Italy at the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Linnea Ström is a Swedish professional golfer. She joined the U.S.-based LPGA Tour after graduating from the Symetra Tour as 2018 Rookie of the Year. She was solo second at the 2022 Madrid Ladies Open and 2023 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship before winning the 2024 ShopRite LPGA Classic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annie Park</span> American professional golfer

Annie Park is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. Park has one win on that tour, at the 2018 ShopRite LPGA Classic, and competed in the 2019 Solheim Cup. Previously, she was the 2013 NCAA individual champion and had three victories on the Symetra Tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vikki Laing</span> Scottish professional golfer

Vikki Laing is a Scottish professional golfer who played on the U.S.-based Futures Tour and the Ladies European Tour (LET), finishing 10th in the 2010 LET rankings.

Fátima Fernández Cano is a Spanish professional golfer and member of the LPGA Tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patty Tavatanakit</span> Thai professional golfer

Paphangkorn "Patty" Tavatanakit is a Thai professional golfer who began competing on the LPGA Tour in January 2020. On 4 April 2021, Tavatanakit accomplished her first win on the LPGA Tour – the 2021 ANA Inspiration, a major championship in women's professional golf. In October 2021, Tavatanakit was named the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year for the LPGA Tour in 2021.

Lilia Kha-Tu Du Vu is an American professional golfer and LPGA Tour player. In 2023, she rose to number one in the Women's World Golf Rankings and became LPGA Tour Player of the Year after winning four titles, including two majors at the 2023 Chevron Championship and 2023 Women's British Open.

Marissa Steen is an American professional golfer and LPGA Tour member. She was Symetra Tour Player of the Year in 2014.

Lindsey Kathryn Weaver-Wright is an American professional golfer and LPGA Tour member. She shot a 59 during the 2012 Ping Junior Interclub match to become the second female golfer in history to do so, first being Annika Sörenstam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arizona Wildcats women's golf</span> American college golf team

The Arizona Wildcats women's golf is considered one of the best in all of women's collegiate golf, dating back to their first season in 1979. Since they have won three national championships in 1996, 2000, and 2018. The Wildcat Women have also had four individual national champions with Susan Slaughter in (1990), Annika Sörenstam in (1991), Marisa Baena in (1996) and Jenna Daniels in (2000).

Pei-Yun Chien is a Taiwanese professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour.

References

  1. 1 2 "Sadena Parks Becomes 5th Black Female to Play on LPGA Tour, Finishes 4th on Symetra Tour Money List to Earn Fully Exempt LPGA Card". African American Golfer's Digest. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  2. ↑ Voepel, Mechelle (September 25, 2014). "Sadena Parks Determined To Be A Different Face For LPGA Tour". ESPN.
  3. ↑ "Sadena Parks Biography". GoHuskies.com. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Promising LPGA Rookie Sadena Parks". Bob Parsons Golfing. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Sadena Parks bio". LPGA. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  6. 1 2 Myers, Alex (July 8, 2015). "Sadena Parks becomes the latest golfer to pose for ESPN's Body Issue". Golf Digest.
  7. ↑ "Sadena Parks". Golf Channel. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  8. ↑ "LPGA Rookie Sadena Parks in ESPN's Body Issue: "I want to be #1 golfer in the world"". Sinuous Magazine. July 11, 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.