Celebrating the Legacy of Lee Elder, (87), First Black Golfer to Play the Masters

How one man opened the door for many golfers to enter like Tiger Woods.

Mr. Lee Elder, a four-time PGA Tour Winner! He is a trailblazer and pioneer who in 1975 broke the color barrier becoming the first Black golfer to play in the Masters. Elder chartered a legacy that made a difference and many will forever reverence.

Elder made 448 starts on the PGA Tour with four victories, including the 1974 Monsanto Open in Pensacola, Florida, with these accomplishments it was only befitting to get an invitation to the Masters.

With all of his talents before the world, Elder received death threats and had to be accompanied by armed security guards while wallking down the middle of the fairways. Why? Was it because he was talented or Black or both?

Mr. Elder stated what happened to him regarding playing in the Masters: “When I won at Pensacola, they had received calls that if I won the tournament I would never get out of there alive.” “So when I made the putt to win and I was going out to join my friends, Jim Vickers and Harry Toscano, they had beers in their hands ready for me. Jack Tuthill, who was then the tour supervisor, grabbed me and said, ‘Hey, you can’t go out there.’ I said, ‘Why can’t I?’ He said for me to get in the car so they could drive me back to the clubhouse. In the car, he told me about the threats.”

According to Mr. Elder, “The ceremony was given inside the clubhouse. We couldn’t do it outside. That was the decision of the people there. I was ready to get my trophy and my check and get out of there.”

Elder and other Black golfers endured much racism in the face of being their best and at the top of the game. Many hated them and hurled all kinds of indignities at them, even during the Pensacola course, Elder was denied entry into the clubhouse and was made to use the parking lot to change his golf shoes.

Elder stated how several players before him should have been allowed to attend the Masters, like Pete Brown, who won the Waco Turner Open in 1965, Charlie Sifford in 1967 who won the Sammy Davis Jr. Greater Hartford Open. Sifford went on to win the L.A. Open in 1969 and Brown won the Andy Williams San Diego Open in 1970. Neither of these champions was allowed to attend the Masters due to the color of their skin.

Upon receiving the invitation to attend the Masters, Elder received their blessings which were very important to him, and in honor of them leading the way in the face of much racism.

So sad that Elder could not enjoy his fame as his White golfers, he feared for his safety, rented two houses in Augusta during his first Masters so people wouldn’t know his whereabouts. Leading up to the tournament, he and his friends were denied access to local establishments due to their skin color.

April 8, 2021, in Augusta, Georgia, above is the photo depicting Lee Elder’s arrival at the ceremonial tee shots before the first round of the Masters golf tournament.

In his honor last year, the Augusta National endowed two Paine scholarships in Elder’s name that would cover the costs of the university’s men’s and fledgling women’s golf programs.

Robert Lee Elder was born July 14, 1934, in Dallas and at a very young age taught himself how to play golf by sneaking onto all-white golf courses after hours who played his first official round at the age of 16. He became a caddy, hustled, and work hard to improve his game until he was drafted by the Army in 1959 and played frequent rounds with his commanding officer at Fort Lewis in Washinton state.

After he was discharged from the Army in 1961, he joined the all-Black United Golf Association tour and launched his professional career.

As an activist and rightfully so, in 1963 Mr. Elder and a quarter-million others participated in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. They walked three days to North Carolina before hitchhiking a ride the rest of the way to the Lincoln Memorial where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s gave his historic iconic “I Have a Dream” speech.

Lee Elder was active in the sport at every opportunity, the above photo shows him at the 2020 Masters. Also, he was honored at Augusta National in April where he joined Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player on the tee box for the ceremonial first drives of the tournament. Although, his jacket didn’t match the combined nine green jackets of those golf legends. His best finish at the Masters was a tie for 17th in 1979, where he garnered the loudest applause. He had hoped to hit a shot of his own but chose to acknowledge the gallery from his golf cart.

In conclusion, Lee Elder will always be a trailblazer in the Golfing world and no one can take that historical fact away from him even though many had tried to block his path to becoming the first Black golfer to attend the Masters. No one can stop what is meant to me. May his legacy live on forever!! R.I.P.

For additional reads: