AUGUSTA, Ga. As the sun set over the high Georgia pines on Thursday morning, Lee Elder joined Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player in honor of the first tea at the Augusta National Golf Club for the 85th edition of the Masters.
Elder (86) was driven in a wagon to the number 1 tee. With a cane to walk on and an oxygen tank to help him breathe, Elder did not shoot a ceremonial discount like the former champion.
It did not matter.
“I definitely want to thank you so much for this wonderful opportunity,” Elder said at a news conference shortly thereafter. “For me and my family, I think it was one of the most emotional experiences I’ve ever seen or been involved in. It’s definitely something I’ll cherish for the rest of my life because I love going to Augusta National and playing. here are the times I played here with many of my friends who are members here. ‘
Fred Ridley, chairman of the Augusta National Golf Club, announced during the Masters in the Pandemic Delay in November that Elder, the first black man to play in the Masters (in 1975), would be invited to join Nicklaus and Player closes as honorary starter. The club also awarded two scholarships to Paine College, a nearby HBCU, in Elder’s name.
“Lee Elder is the first black man to compete in the Masters, paving a course that will inspire golf and future generations of players,” Ridley said Thursday morning as he introduced Elder to a gallery of a few hundred. patrons.
Former Masters champions Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson and Cameron Champ, a black golfer taking part in his second Masters this week, were close. So did several black club professionals who were invited to the ceremony.
“They were undoubtedly inspired by Lee Elder and his message that the game is golf for everyone,” Ridley said. Today, Lee Elder will inspire us and make history again, not with a driving force, but with his presence, power and character.
“Lee, it is my privilege to say, ‘You have the honor.'”
Elder, who grew up in Dallas, first played a round of 18 holes before turning 16. He worked in pro shops and locker rooms and separated at golf courses that were separated during the fifties of the last century. After serving in the military, he joined the United Golf Association, a tour for black players, which won 18 of 22 events in one piece.
In 1968, after saving the $ 6,500 needed to participate in the PGA Tour, Elder earned his tour ticket by finishing ninth in Q School. During his rookie season, he lost Nick in a playoff game at the American Golf Classic, and fell on the fifth hole of the sudden death at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio.
“I think it really spurred my career,” Elder said. ‘I know after that I started flowering pretty well, and I think it happened that it really changed my game, because I knew that if I could play five extra holes with the big Jack Nicklaus, I knew I would arrived there and that I could play on the tour. ‘
Elder also has a close relationship with Player, a three-time Masters Champion of South Africa. In 1971, Player Elder invited to play in the South African PGA Championship in Johannesburg. Elder agreed to go, but only if the South African government promised that he would not be subjected to apartheid.
“It’s quite sad to think that in those days, with the segregation policy that South Africa had, I had to go to my president and get permission for Lee Elder to come and play in our PGA,” said Player.
Elder won the Nigerian Open in 1971 during his visit to Africa.
“You can imagine in history at the time how encouraging it was for a young black boy to see this champion play, and then, of course, with Tiger Woods going on, it was absolutely fantastic for people of any color across the world, “Player said.
Elder qualified for the Masters by winning the Pensacola Open in 1974 for his first PGA Tour tournament. Due to death threats, the trophy ceremony took place in the clubhouse instead of on the 18th green. His Masters invitation was 41 years after the first tournament was played in 1934, the same year he was born.
‘I was surprised when it was announced that a Black player was not playing because Lee was definitely playing well enough, and he had Teddy Rhodes in front of him and Charlie Sifford in front of him and fellow players who could have played well were invited. to the Masters, ‘Nicklaus said. “I thought it was long overdue when he was finally invited.”
When Elder arrived in Augusta for the 1975 Masters, he rented two homes for security reasons. He and his friends were denied a meal in a restaurant because of their race, and the president of Paine College arranged for the school’s cafeteria workers to cook for him for the rest of the week.
“The strongest memory I can remember was how nervous I would be after the first tea,” Elder said. “But what I remember so much about my first visit here was the fact that every tea and every green I walked on received huge applause. I think if you receive something like that, it helps to establish [you] off. I’ll tell you, I was so nervous when we started playing that it took me a few holes to calm down. ‘
Elder missed the cut by 4 strokes. Nicklaus won his fifth green jacket by beating Johnny Miller and Tom Weiskopf by 1.
Elder played six times in the Masters from 1975 to 1981, scoring the track three times. His best finish was a draw for 17th place in 1979.
“I definitely hope the things I did inspire a lot of young black players, and that they will continue to do so,” Elder said.
He was back on the no. 1 at Augusta National and inspired them again.