The Masters Golfer We Must Know

Jack Nicklaus. Tiger Woods. Arnold Palmer.

They’re synonymous with the Masters — having won a combined 15 titles.

But there’s another golfer whose name we as leaders must know.

Lee Elder became the first African-American golfer ever to compete in the Masters in 1975. And while he ultimately missed the cut that year, what he accomplished over those two days was really as impressive as any feat the tournament’s ever seen.

Elder received endless hate mail leading up to his appearance and was ultimately forced to rent two houses in Augusta to avoid detection. He also made sure to have company at all of his meals in case he was ever targeted by a mob.

This week, 45 years later, Augusta National recognized Elder, now 86, with an honorary starter spot and is creating two scholarships in his name at Paine College, a historically Black university in town.

“The opportunity to earn an invitation to the Masters and stand at that first tee was my dream and to have it come true in 1975 remains one of the greatest highlights of my career and life,” Elder said. “So, to be invited back to the first tee one more time to join Jack and Gary for next year’s Masters means the world to me.”

What Elder endured in 1975 was hardly an aberration. According to a Sports Illustrated profile, once when he was in Pensacola, Fla., he was forced to change clothes in the parking lot because he was barred from entering the clubhouse. In Memphis one year, he received a late-night call in his hotel room stating, “N-----, you better not win this tournament.” Elder played the course with a police escort.

Before the 1975 Masters appearance, he uttered two words we should constantly remind ourselves of: “I belong.”

The journey was long and arduous, but Elder transcended the sport in a way that few to this day realize.

His drives weren’t the longest, his putts not the sharpest. But Lee Elder’s grit was unmatched.

And that’s worth more than any green jacket.

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