![]() A few months later, he turns professional and ties for 60th place in his debut at the Greater Milwaukee Open. Amateur titles.ġ996: Tiger Woods wins NCAA Division 1-A individual title as a member of the Stanford golf team. Peete was the most prolific African-American winner until Tiger Woods came along.ġ979: Lee Elder becomes the first African-American to play in the Ryder Cup.ġ986: Harold Dunovant, a Life Member of The PGA of America, establishes the National Black Golf Hall of Fame.ġ986: The PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship is created to elevate the game of golf in minority colleges and universities by giving them a chance to compete in a championship because of being denied opportunities to compete in NCAA collegiate golf events.ġ987: The first PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship is conducted at Highland Park Golf Course in Cleveland, Ohio.ġ990: Businessman Ron Townsend becomes the first African-American member of Augusta National Golf Club, site of the Masters.ġ994: Tiger Woods wins the first of his three straight U.S. 1978: William Powell expands Clearview Golf Club to 18 holes.ġ979: Calvin Peete wins the 1979 Greater Milwaukee Open, the first of his 12 career PGA Tour victories. ![]() He misses the cut, but goes on to win four times on the PGA Tour and eight times on the Champions Tour. He also wins the 1970 Andy Williams San Diego Invitational.ġ975: Lee Elder becomes the first African-American to play in the Masters. He wins the 1967 Greater Hartford Open Invitational and the 1969 Los Angeles Open, as well as the 1975 PGA Seniors’ Championship and the 1980 Suntree Classic on what is now the Champions Tour.ġ961: The PGA of America removes its “Caucasian-only clause” from its Bylaws and opens the door for all players to participate in professional golf tournaments.ġ963: Tennis great Althea Gibson becomes the first African-American to compete on the LPGA Tour.ġ964: Pete Brown becomes the first African-American player to win a PGA-sanctioned event, the Waco Turner Open. Women’s Amateur.ġ957: Charlie Sifford wins the Long Beach Open, an event co-sponsored by the PGA and with a field including many white players.ġ961: Charlie Sifford becomes the first African-American player to earn a PGA Tour card. Open.ġ956: Ann Gregory, a dominant female player, becomes the first African-American player to enter the U.S. He becomes the only African-American to build, own and operate a golf course.ġ948: William Powell’s Clearview Golf Club opens to the public as a nine-hole course.ġ948: Bill Spiller is denied entry into the Richmond Open, and spends many years fighting the segregation policies in golf.ġ948: Ted Rhodes becomes second African-American to play in the U.S. Powell secures funding from two African-American physicians while his brother takes out a second mortgage on his home, and builds Clearview Golf Club with his own hands. loan for his plan to build a golf course. Air Force, William Powell is denied a G.I. He would go on to become Joe Louis’ golf instructor.ġ946: Returning home to East Canton, Ohio, after serving in the U.S. ![]() He stages another in 1927, and in 1928 creates the United Golf Associations, which ultimately established a tour for players excluded from PGA events.ġ939: Clyde Martin is named head professional at the segregated Langston Golf Course in Washington, D.C. ![]() He goes on to create several public courses in the New Orleans area, but isn’t allowed to play them, either, for many years.ġ926: Robert Hawkins stages his first tournament for African-American players. Because of the club’s segregation policy, however, he is never allowed to play the course or even practice there. Opens.ġ899: George Grant, a dentist in Boston, invents the modern wooden golf tee.ġ922: Joseph Bartholomew begins his career as a golf course architect by creating a new course at Metairie Golf Club in his native New Orleans. Some of the professional players threaten to boycott the event when they discover his race, but back down when USGA President Theodore Havemayer defends Shippen and another entrant, Shinnecock Indian Oscar Bunn. Open at Shinnecock Hills, where he worked as a caddie, at the age of 17. Here is a timeline marking some of the many memorable moments in the history of African-Americans in golf.ġ896: John Shippen, whose father was African-American and whose mother was Shinnecock Indian, plays in the second U.S. Stuart Franklin/Getty Imagesįrom John Shippen to Tiger Woods and Renee Powell to Charlie Sifford, African-Americans have played a significant role in the growth of golf, both on and off the course. By Bob Denney, PGA Historian Tiger Woods speaks with Charlie Sifford, the first African American inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, during a practice round of the 2009 WGC Bridgestone Invitational.
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