By Dantee Ramos
Texas A&M womenâs 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 Womenâs Golf since 1975.
âMy time hereâs been awesome,â Slaughter told KAGS. âWeâve always had a pretty great team, hard work ethic. Iâve just been having a good time here playing good tournaments, playing good golf and ready to keep going forward.â
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.
The Aggies nearly failed to qualify for the NCAA National Championships during Slaughterâs 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. Carterâs daughter, Kafi Slaughter said her father picked up the game while working as a caddie at a local country club.
âHe was one of 13 (children),â Kafi said of her father. âThey had no money and so he worked at the local Port Arthur country club as a caddie. Thatâs how he learned how to play golf. He worked as a caddie so he could buy shoes.â