Rick Ross attempted to encourage more Black people to participate in golfing on Sept. 3 after attending the PGA Tour FedEx Cup Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. The Tour Championship tournament began with the first round on Sept. 2 and is scheduled to end on Sept. 5.
Ross followed player Tony Finau during Friday’s third round and was inspired to encourage African-Americans to participate in the sport. The “Hustlin” emcee said in his Instagram Story, “We gotta encourage the black golfers, let’s encourage the younger brothers and let them know it’s not really an intimidating sport. It’s something we need to get involved with, if it’s something you are interested in. I encourage that.”
The 45-year-old tried to make the golfing idea more persuasive by mentioning how much the winner of this tournament will make. Ross stated as he closed out the recording, “Just for the record, the pot $15 million today.” First place in the PGA Tour’s season-ending tournament pays $15 million, second place pays $5 million, and even the last-place player in the 30-man field will get to take home $395,000 from the total prize fund of $46 million.
Alongside Ross’ motivating video, Finau thanked the rapper for following him across the 18 holes as well as spreading the word about golfing to the Black community. He wrote, “Much love to @RickRoss for coming out to the @playofffinale! Appreciate what you’re doing for the game of golf by encouraging minorities and the younger generation to play #inspiresomeone.”
As Ross’ video became viral many commended the “Aston Martin Music” lyricist for using his platform to promote the sport. Another social media user brought up how former NBA playr JR Smith is also bringing awareness to the world of golf. Smith is currently enrolled at North Carolina A&T State University and is petitioning the NCAA to allow him to play on the men’s golf team.
“Thats whats up…I definitely appreciate you using your platform to promote such a great sport! ⛳ ♂️👍🏾✊🏾💯.”
“Encourage is the word for the week. Encourage positivity. Encourage discomfort. Encourage what you didn’t learn as a child. Encourage a life that is outside what your parents had. Encourage your dreams and others. Encourage to inspire someone.”
“Exactly. JR Smith will help a lot with bringing awareness as well.”
“Hallelujah . Encouragement to the game of golf. Add tennis to the list.”
