LaRee Pearl Sugg (born November 11, 1969) is an athletic director for

Richmond University Richmond American University London is a private university in London, United Kingdom. Richmond was founded in 1972,by British educator Cyril Taylor. The university awards US degrees from the American state of Delaware, where Richmond is accr ...

since 2005. Before joining Richmond, Sugg became the third African American woman to play on the

LPGA Tour The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekl ...

in history. Sugg played on the LPGA tour from 1995 to 1996 and 2000 to 2001 with multiple appearances at the United States Women's Open Championship and

Women's British Open The Women's Open (originally known as the Women's British Open, and still widely referred to by that name outside the UK) is a women's major golf championships, major championship in Professional golf tours#Women's tours, women's professional go ...

. Apart from the LPGA, Sugg played on the LGPA Futures Tour,

Ladies European Tour The Ladies European Tour is a professional golf tour for women which was founded in 1978. It is based at Buckinghamshire Golf Club near London in England. Like many UK-based sports organisations it is a company limited by guarantee, a legal stru ...

and

Ladies Asian Golf Tour The Ladies Asian Golf Tour is a women's professional golf tour that was established as the Ladies Asia Golf Circuit in 1983 and known as the Kosaido Ladies Asia Golf Circuit 1987–2004 for sponsorship reasons. The tour was sanctioned by the Asia- ...

during the 1990s. During her career, Sugg won the 1998 Aurora Health Care Futures Classic. She also was third at the 1993

Singapore Ladies Open The Singapore Women's Open is a professional golf tournament held in Singapore. It was first played in 1987 as the Singapore Ladies Open, and is from 2022 part of the Ladies Asian Tour and LPGA of Korea Tour. History The Singapore Ladies Open w ...

and 1997 Indonesian Ladies Open.

Early life and education

Sugg was born on November 11, 1969, in Petersburg,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. She began golfing at the age of six and won over thirty titles as a junior golfer. With a golf scholarship, Sugg went to the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

for her post-secondary education. During her four years at UCLA, she was on the college's golf team. At the 1991 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship, Sugg started the 13th hole in front of the tee markers and was given a two-stroke penalty. At the playoff hole during the NCAA championship, Sugg scored a birdie and won the championship for UCLA. She graduated from UCLA with an English degree.

Career

For her golfing career, Sugg started with the LGPA Futures Tour in 1991. The following year, Sugg joined the

as a professional golfer while remaining on the Futures Tour. That year, Sugg attempted to get a

card but failed to qualify. While Sugg continued to play for both the European and Futures Tours until 1994, Sugg briefly played on the

in 1993. In 1995, Sugg became the third ever African American woman to play in the LPGA and the first since

Renee Powell Renee Powell (born May 4, 1946) is an American professional golfer who played on the US-based LPGA Tour and is currently head professional at her family's Clearview Golf Club in East Canton, Ohio. She was the second African-American woman ever to ...

, who ended her career in 1978. After playing for two years, Sugg lost her LPGA tour card in 1996 due to her season's winnings. After leaving the LPGA, Sugg continued to play on the Ladies Asian Golf Tour and Futures Tour during the late 1990s. During the 1990s, she won the 1998 Aurora Health Care Futures Classic. She also placed third at the 1993

and 1997 Indonesian Ladies Open. Sugg was the only African American woman golfer in the LPGA when she returned at the 2000

Cup Noodles Hawaiian Ladies Open The Hawaiian Ladies Open was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1987 to 2001.LPGA Tournament ...

. That year, she reached 8th place at the 2000 Wegmans Rochester International. Sugg ended her LPGA career in 2001 when she lost her tour card for a second time. Throughout her LPGA career, Sugg played in ten

women's major golf championships Women's golf has a set of major championships which parallels that in men's golf, with the women's system newer and less stable than the men's. As of 2013, five tournaments are designated as majors in women's golf by the LPGA Tour. LPGA majors ...

with multiple appearances at the United States Women's Open Championship and

. After leaving the LPGA, Sugg moved on to the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students in five schools: the School ...

and became the inaugural head coach of their women's golf team in 2002. At Richmond, Sugg briefly coached the men's golf team in 2005 before working as an assistant athletic director for the university from 2005 to 2008. From 2008 onwards, she continued her athletic director career with Richmond as an associate director and deputy director.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sugg, LaRee American female golfers African-American golfers LPGA Tour golfers Ladies European Tour golfers 1969 births Living people 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American women