Texas A&M women’s golf has made history on the course, but Zoe Slaughter has also left her mark on campus.

In 2021, Slaughter became the first Black player to join Texas A&M Women’s Golf since 1975.

“My time here’s been awesome,” Slaughter told KAGS. “We’ve always had a pretty great team, hard work ethic. I’ve just been having a good time here playing good tournaments, playing good golf and ready to keep going forward.”

Slaughter is often described as the glue that holds the team together. A&M has experienced unprecedented success with Slaughter, making two consecutive appearances in the national semifinals.

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The Aggies nearly failed to qualify for the NCAA National Championships during Slaughter’s first season. During the final round of its NCAA Regional, Texas A&M had to make up six strokes to advance. Slaughter shot the fourth-best round in A&M history that day (-7, 65) to help the team advance.

Last year, she captured the ICON Invitational title and held the 2020-21 American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year, the 2020-21 All-American Athletic Conference title, named The American Golfer of the Week in 2021 and the 2020-21 American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team.

Her grandfather, Jake Carter, introduced her to the sport. Rather than by choice, he was introduced to golf by chance. Carter’s daughter, Kafi Slaughter said her father picked up the game while working as a caddie at a local country club.

“He was one of 13 (children),” Kafi said of her father. “They had no money and so he worked at the local Port Arthur country club as a caddie. That’s how he learned how to play golf. He worked as a caddie so he could buy shoes.”

In the end, Carter earned a full-ride scholarship to play at the HBCU Prairie View A&M.

“I have to remind myself, Zoe, and everybody else in the family that golf changed our lives,” Kafi said. “Golf propelled education for our family.”

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