Credit to SCOREGolf By Rick Young
Lee Elder died a hero Sunday.
Like Jackie Robinson in baseball and Willy O’Ree in hockey, Elder broke golf’s colour barrier, forging a path where one didn’t exist.
He was the first Black golfer to play in the Masters, the first Black golfer to represent the United States in the Ryder Cup (something not talked nearly enough about), and the first African-American recipient of the Bob Jones Award, the United States Golf Association’s highest honour.
Forced to battle racial discrimination and injustice for much of his career, he turned dreams of playing the PGA Tour into reality. He was in the field of 448 official tour events — including 12 Canadian Opens — winning four times on the regular tour and eight times on the PGA Tour Champions.
Of his quartet of PGA Tour victories the 1974 Monsanto Open stands out. That win secured him a spot in the 1975 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. Wanting to earn his trip down Magnolia Lane, Elder had turned down an exemption from the Masters Tournament committee in 1973.
“To have the success he had, while paving the way for others to dream big and achieve is a testament to the type of man he was and how much talent he possessed,” said Jay Monahan, PGA Tour commissioner, in a statement. “The Tour is profoundly grateful for the career of Lee Elder.”
Ashley Chinner, the former Canadian touring professional turned reinstated amateur, was among many extremely saddened by the news of Elder’s passing.
During his 12-year pro career (1989-2002) the Baker University graduate never once faced anything close to the discrimination Elder did, was never forbidden to enter a clubhouse because of his skin colour, and he never played under a death threat.
Elder did after receiving multiple letters that he’d be killed if he teed off in the 1975 Masters. He missed the cut that year but played six Masters in all.
“Sometimes I think about my struggles when I played professional golf,” Chinner said in a phone conversation. “They pale in comparison to a week in the life of Lee Elder.”
Chinner was born in 1963, moved to Canada from South Africa at an early age, and didn’t pick up a golf club until he was 12. Nine years later he played his first professional event and counts himself among many Black golfers Elder inspired.
“By the time I started playing in 1980 a lot of what Mr. Elder accomplished as a golfer, not a Black golfer, but as a golfer, had already permeated its way across the industry. He was an inspiration for so many,” he said. “The thing I admired about him and Charlie Sifford and Teddy Rhodes is they never said poor me. They stayed focused and kept at it. Mr. Elder worked his ass off to get to the PGA Tour and nothing anyone did or said was going to stop him from fulfilling that dream.”
Born in Dallas as the youngest of eight children, Elder lost both parents in a three-month span at the age of seven — his father in the Second World War and his mother to a broken heart. He was raised by an aunt and became drawn to golf by an older brother who got him a job as a caddie at a local golf course. Elder was on his own from the time he turned 16.
“The pride he had in who he was as a person was as inspiring as what he did on the golf course. Mr. Elder never blamed anyone. He never complained. He kept forging ahead. It’s amazing what you’ll put up with or where you’ll go to practise or what you’ll hear on a golf course if you have a goal. We should thank Lee Elder for his grace,” Chinner said.
Like many around the world, Chinner tuned in live to see Elder join Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player as an honorary Masters starter in April. Elder was hooked to oxygen and unable to make a swing. As concerned as he was about that, Chinner was moved by the ceremony.
It was Elder’s final significant public appearance.
“There was a reverence there,” Chinner explained. “The respect both Mr. Nicklaus and Mr. Player showed him on that first tee was special. You could see it in their eyes. They accepted that Mr. Elder was a legend, like them. To me it also seemed liked the moment overwhelmed them.”
As for the legacy Elder leaves behind it is an enduring one. With the game seeking to become more diverse and inclusive, Elder’s life and times are sure to draw an even wider lens of attention — as they should.
Something Chinner believes Elder would not want is credit for what the generation after him achieved. That includes Tiger Woods, winner of 82 PGA Tour events and 15 major championships.
“He would never want an ounce (of credit),” Chinner said. “Honestly, I think he would shy away from being called a trailblazer. I’ll bet despite the struggles he probably feels he was pretty lucky to play amazing courses, in amazing places and meet so many incredible people through golf. I know I do.”
Elder’s career, according to Chinner, can be summed up by his strength of character. No matter someone’s goals, dreams or ambitions, they are never a slam dunk without heart and soul. Self belief and true belief are qualities he thinks Elder had in abundance.
“If doors are open it can be pretty easy to handle your next adverse situation but what if those doors are closed like they were for him,” Chinner said. “To me, Lee Elder didn’t see a Black man when he looked in the mirror. He saw a professional golfer. I think that was a quality that served him well.”
Elder was 87 when he died.