For Shasta Averyhardt, Golf Has Become a Sanctuary Again

Alyssa Keown/Battle Creek Enquirer/USA Today Network

Sports Illustrated and Empower Onyx are putting the spotlight on the diverse journeys of Black women across sports—from the veteran athletes, to up-and-coming stars, coaches, executives and more—in the series, Elle-evate: 100 Influential Black Women in Sports.

There have been only a handful of golfers from Flint, Mich., to make it to the professional ranks, and even fewer who have played a LPGA-sanctioned competition. Shasta Averyhardt made that list in 2011 when she earned her LPGA Tour card while being only the fourth African-American woman at the time to earn tour status. A trailblazer in her own right, Averyhardt was just getting…