Ethan Mangum named inaugural Pathway Player into the 2022 Collegiate Showcase

The Genesis Invitational announced today that Ethan Mangum of the College of William & Mary golf program has been named the inaugural Pathway Player into the tournament’s Collegiate Showcase. Mangum will compete in the Collegiate Showcase at The Riviera Country Club on Monday, February 14 with the opportunity to earn an exemption into the 2022 Genesis Invitational, to be played February 17-20.

To build upon the tournament’s history of inclusion, The Genesis Invitational will annually select a collegiate golfer as the Pathway Player. This special invitation into the Collegiate Showcase will be awarded to a player with a minority background who is excelling on the golf course and academically. In addition to entry into the Collegiate Showcase, the tournament will support the player and his program’s travel to Riviera.

The Pathway Player invitation is intended to provide exposure and opportunity to high-level competition in support of the recipient’s professional golf aspirations. In conjunction with this initiative, the tournament will support select causes focused on providing minority golfer with access and opportunity to the game.

“We are excited to welcome Ethan to Riviera as the inaugural Collegiate Showcase Pathway Player,” Genesis Invitational tournament director Mike Antolini said. “The tournament has a proud history of inclusion and has provided many amateur players with opportunities early in their careers. We hope the experience in the Collegiate Showcase will help Ethan on his path to a professional golf career.”

“I’m grateful for this invitation to compete as the Pathway Player in the Collegiate Showcase and hope I can continue to empower the journeys of others in the game of golf like Tiger Woods has for me and so many of my confreres,” Mangum said. “There will continue to be advancements in equality in the great game of golf. In the words of the legendary Charlie Sifford, the game of golf is a wonderful sport. Love for sport and fellow competitors will continue to outweigh the prejudices and bigotry.”

Originally from Jackson, Miss., Mangum is a graduate student on the William & Mary golf team after graduating magna cum laude from Florida A&M with a degree in Sociology and Law. While at Florida A&M, Mangum was a standout on the golf team, leading the Rattlers to their first-ever MEAC Championship and NCAA Regional appearance during the 2020-21 season. In his amateur career, Mangum has 33 tournament victories and last summer he was the low amateur at the inaugural JOHN SHIPPEN Invitational. Mangum also has been a mainstay in the Advocates Professional Golf Association (APGA) Collegiate rankings, earning the top spot in the debut rankings this past fall.

Mangum and the College of William & Mary join a diverse field of collegiate programs from around the country taking part in the 2022 Collegiate Showcase:

The 2022 Collegiate Showcase kicks off tournament week for The Genesis Invitational. The annual event features the largest field of collegiate players in its eight-year history. The Collegiate Showcase has helped launch the careers of many PGA TOUR players including Will Zalatoris and Scottie Scheffler, both winners of the PGA TOUR’s Arnold Palmer Award, representing the TOUR’s rookie of the year.

Past winners of The Genesis Invitational Collegiate Showcase include Angus Flannigan (2021, University of Minnesota), Sean Yu (2020, San Jose State University), Lukas Euler (2019, University of Kentucky), Scheffler (2018, University of Texas), Sahith Theegala (2017, Pepperdine University), Charlie Danielson (2016, University of Illinois) and Zalatoris (2015, Wake Forest University).

The Collegiate Showcase also features a pro-am competition with teams comprised of a PGA TOUR pro and two amateurs representing the college athlete’s school. The pro-am teams compete against each other in better ball play, with the winning team earning a $50,000 donation to the school’s golf program.