when looking at colleges out of high school . Whiten was interested in James Madison and Virginia Commonwealth but ultimately received an excellent scholarship opportunity to attend Hampton . Green was looking at Washington & Lee and William and Mary but was drawn to what an HBCU had to offer .
“ I always secretly wanted to go to an HBCU because my high school experience wasn ’ t that diverse . I wasn ’ t around a lot of Black people ,” said Green , who is a business management major with a minor in economics . “ It ’ s cool being in an environment where I ’ m not the odd one out . People don ’ t look at me differently . I ’ m just any other person .
“ It ’ s freaky man . I ’ m not going to lie , I ’ m still in shock when I go to practice and see 10 or 11 kids hitting the ball 300 yards , all Black ,” Green added . “ Where else in the world do you see that ? You have your APGA ( Advocates PGA ) Tour events and whatnot , but it ’ s just so rare . Each of us can go under par at any point . Each of us can shoot the lights out of a golf course . It ’ s just incredible . I think it ’ s so important
for golf to see the diversity , to see different people succeeding .”
Howard has opened doors for Whiten as well . Outside of golf , he has completed a high-level internship at a Wall Street firm and has a standing job offer . The caveat — the firm has encouraged him to pursue his professional golf dream . The job will be there waiting when he ’ s ready for it . Whiten has played in three Korn Ferry Tour events over the last two summers . He shot 78-76 in his first foray at the 2022 Visit Knoxville Open , where he admitted he was wide-eyed and excited to be there . In 2023 , he shot 72-70 at the BMW Charity Pro-Am before posting 69-70 to miss the cut by a single stroke at the Price Cutter Charity Championship . Among those he beat that weekend was Fred Biondi , the 2023 NCAA individual champion from the University of Florida .
“ It ’ s been good playing in those events ,” Whiten said . “ I get to play practice rounds with the No . 1 guy on the Korn Ferry list . You watch them and realize it ’ s a grind . You ’ ve just got to stay with it . The game is hard . Playing in a Korn Ferry event can help you prepare for the next level .”
Whiten ’ s play at the 2023 PGA Works Men ’ s Collegiate Championships at Shoal Creek in Alabama , which features the best HBCU teams from across all divisions of NCAA golf , opened eyes . He shot 69-68-64 for a three-day 201 that earned him a ninestroke victory over Odom . Howard won the
Everett Whiten Jr .’ s closed his PGA Works win with a final-round 64 . team title by a whopping 57 strokes over North Carolina A & T . After this season is complete , Whiten says he plans to return to Shoal Creek to play and practice in preparation for play on the APGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour Q School .
But there ’ s the matter of helping Howard tick another box off the list of goals Puryear set when he arrived at HU . The Bison have won a conference title ( in the MEAC , before moving to the Northeast Conference ), they ’ ve proven to be the best HBCU program in the country at PGA Works . They ’ ve sent players ( Odom and Whiten ) to play in professional events .
After a second-place finish in last spring ’ s NEC Championships , Howard is looking to take the next step and win — no longer a dream , Puryear says , but a goal . That would give HU its first trip to NCAA regionals .
“ If we win the conference and get to the proper regional and we can peak at the right time , we can do it . We can get through ,” Puryear said . “ Timing is everything . I ’ ve told guys since I got here , I never get excited in the fall . I want to peak in March and April . Am I happy with the fall ? Yeah , we played a lot of great teams . Are we where we need to be ? Not yet . We ’ ve got a lot of great things to get to . Are we — as these kids say — vibing and trending in the right direction ? 100 percent . Do I expect us to do some pretty amazing things in the spring ? Absolutely .”
PGA OF AMERICA
“ It ’ s cool being in an environment where I ’ m not the odd one out . People don ’ t look at me differently . I ’ m just any other person .”
— Justin Green
vsga . org