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Lee Elder made history on April, 21, 1974 won the Monsanto Open to become the first black player to qualify for the Masters, which he played in 1975

Lee Elder was born in Dallas, Texas in 1934. Both Elder’s parents passed away and he decided to play golf as a way to earn extra money for his family. He would start caddying at the all-white Tennison Park Golf Club in Dallas and become liked by the head pro of the course who allowed Elder to come in after-hours to play on the back six holes. Elder became a golfer who attracted the attention of hustler and con artist “Titanic” Thompson. Thompson’s financial backed, Elder started playing in tournaments while honing his skills as a golfer and developing the ability to play under pressure.

Elder joined the all-Black United Golfers Association (UGA) in 1959 and started the domination of the Association that would last for almost 80-years-old. Elder won four Negro National Open Championships and during one period in 1966 Elder won an astonishing 18 of the 22 tournaments. Elder to earn the required $6,500 he needed to enter the 1967 qualifying school for the PGA Tour which he qualified easily.

In 1971 Elder became the first Black golfer invited to play in the South African PGA Tournament. Elder being apart of the event made it the first integrated sports event in South Africa since the establishment of the official Apartheid policy in 1948. Elder and other Black golfers continued to face discrimination although the PGA Tour was now open to African-Americans. Many tournaments wouldn’t allow Black golfers into the clubhouse and forced them to change and eat in the parking lot. Elder made history on April 21, 1974, won the Monsanto Open to become the first black player to qualify for the Masters.

In 1975, Elder was invited to play at the Master’s Open in Augusta, GA, becoming the first Black player ever invited. Elder wouldn’t make the qualifying round in the tournament, however, his entrance was a milestone in his career. Elder would go on to play in five more Masters, won three PGA tournaments and was named to the 1979 Ryder Cup Team. Elder won 12 tournament victories on the PGA and Senior Tours, earning more than $1 million on each tour.

Butler, G. (2007, February 12) Lee Elder (1934- ). Retrieved from https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/elder-lee-1934/

Pete McDaniel, Uneven Lies: The Heroic Story of African-Americans in Golf (Greenwich, Connecticut: The American Golfer, Inc., 2000); Pete McDaniel, “The Trailblazer”, Golf Digest (October 2000); Eric L. Smith, “Star Profile: Lee Elder,” Black Enterprise (September 1995).

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