Lee Elder

Lee Elder
Lee Elder
Personal information
Full name	Robert Lee Elder
Born	July 14, 1934 (age 90); Dallas, Texas
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight	175 lb (79 kg; 12.5 st)
Sporting nationality	United States
Residence	Pompano Beach, Florida
Career
Turned professional	1959
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour; Champions Tour
Professional wins	14
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	4
PGA Tour Champions	8
Other	2
Best results in major championships;
Masters Tournament	T17: 1979
PGA Championship	T11: 1974
U.S. Open	T11: 1979
The Open Championship	T36: 1979

Robert Lee Elder (born July 14, 1934) is a retired American professional golfer. He is best remembered for becoming the first African-American to play in the Masters Tournament in 1975.^[1]^[2]

Background and family

One of ten children, Elder was born in Dallas, Texas, to Charles and Almeta Elder. He was nine years old when his father was killed in Germany during World War II, and his mother died three months later. At the age of 12, Elder found himself moving from one ghetto to another before being sent to Los Angeles, California to live with his aunt. Elder frequently cut classes to work as a caddy, and after two years at Manual Arts High School he dropped out.

Elder met his future wife, Rose Harper, at a golf tournament in Washington, D.C. The two got married in 1966. After getting married, Rose gave up her golfing career to become his manager.

Professional career

Life before the PGA Tour

Elder did not play a full round of 18 holes until he was 16. He took jobs in pro shops and locker rooms, in addition to caddying where he developed his game by watching his clients, and playing when he had the opportunity. Elder's game developed sufficiently for him to start hustling. His career took a big step after playing a match with heavyweight boxer Joe Louis, which led to Louis’s golf instructor, Ted Rhodes, taking Elder under his wing for three years. Under the tutelage of Rhodes, Elder was able to polish his game and he began playing in tournaments.

In 1959, Elder was drafted into the Army, and was sent to Fort Lewis, Washington. While at Fort Lewis, Elder had the good fortune to be under the command of Colonel John Gleaster who was an avid golfer. Gleaster put Elder in a special services unit, which allowed him the opportunity to play golf on a steady basis.

Elder was discharged from the army in 1961, and joined the United Golf Association Tour (UGA) for black players. He had a dominant stretch in which he won 18 of 22 consecutive tournaments, but this tour did not have large prizes, often in the range of $500.

The PGA Tour

In 1967 Elder raised enough money to attend qualifying school for the PGA Tour. He finished 9th out of a class of 122 and gained his tour card for 1968. That year, he placed 40th on the money list in 1968, bringing in approximately $38,000. The highlight of Elder's rookie season was a memorable playoff loss to Jack Nicklaus at the American Golf Classic. Elder took Nicklaus to the fifth hole of sudden death before losing.

In 1971 Elder accepted a personal invitation from Gary Player to participate in the South African PGA Championship in Johannesburg, South Africa. The event marked the first integrated tournament in the country’s history. The country had apartheid policies in effect at the time, but he agreed to participate after the South African government agreed not to subject him or spectators to the usual segregation requirements. He also played in a number of other tournaments in Southern Africa plus he won the Nigerian Open in 1971.

In 1974, Elder earned his first win on the PGA Tour at the Monsanto Open, which gained him entry to the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia the following year. This marked the first time an African American had qualified for the Masters since it began in 1934. Elder shot a 74 on day one and a 78 on day two of the 1975 Masters, missing the cut, but the impact of his presence in the field was clear.

In 1979 he became the first African American to qualify for play in the Ryder Cup. In 1984 at the age of 50, Elder joined the Senior PGA Tour.

The fight against racism

Life on tour

In 1975, Elder became the first African American to play in the Masters.^[3] Leading up to the tournament he received substantial amounts of hate mail. Fearing for his safety, during the week of the tournament he rented two houses in town and kept moving between them, and always had people around him when he went to eat.

At the Monsanto Open in 1968 in Pensacola, Florida, the same tournament at which he claimed his first PGA Tour victory six years later to qualify for the Masters, Elder and other black players on tour were forced to change their clothes in the parking lot because members of the club would not allow non-whites in their clubhouse. While playing in a tournament in Memphis, Tennessee, a fan picked up Elder's ball on a hole and threw it in a hedge. The incident was witnessed by another pro golfer, and Elder was given a free drop.

Elder tried to stay focused on the game, but unlike the majority of players on tour he was constantly bothered by unruly fans, frequently receiving hate mail and threatening phone calls.

Giving back and speaking out

Elder and his wife set up the Lee Elder Scholarship Fund in 1974. This fund was developed to offer monetary aid to low-income young men and women seeking money for college.

In 1986 he protested to the PGA governors for allowing four American golfers to play in a tournament in Sun City, Bophuthatswana, a small area set up by the apartheid regime of South Africa that surrounds it.

In 1990, Elder spoke out against country clubs that still excluded blacks from membership. Elder has actively promoted Summer Youth Golf Development Programs, raised money for the United Negro College Fund, and served on the advisory boards of Goodwill Industries.

Professional wins (12)

PGA Tour wins (4)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	Apr 21, 1974	Monsanto Open	–10 (67-69-71-67=274)	Playoff	Peter Oosterhuis
2	May 2, 1976	Houston Open	–10 (70-72-67-69=278)	1 stroke	Forrest Fezler
3	Jul 9, 1978	Greater Milwaukee Open	–13 (66-70-70-69=275)	Playoff	Lee Trevino
4	Aug 20, 1978	American Express Westchester Classic	–10 (71-68-68-67=274)	1 stroke	Mark Hayes

PGA Tour playoff record (2–2)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1968	American Golf Classic	Frank Beard, Jack Nicklaus	Nicklaus won with birdie on fifth extra hole Beard eliminated with birdie on first hole
2	1972	Greater Hartford Open	Lee Trevino	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
3	1974	Monsanto Open	Peter Oosterhuis	Won with birdie on fourth extra hole
4	1978	Greater Milwaukee Open	Lee Trevino	Won with par on eighth extra hole

Other wins (2)

1971 Nigerian Open
1984 Jamaica Open

Senior PGA Tour wins (8)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Aug 28, 1984	Suntree Senior Classic	–16 (64-66-70=200)	6 strokes	Miller Barber, Gay Brewer
2	Sep 19, 1984	Hilton Head Seniors International	–13 (68-69-66=203)	3 strokes	Peter Thomson
3	Jun 2, 1985	Denver Post Champions of Golf	–3 (68-69-76=213)	1 stroke	Peter Thomson
4	Jul 28, 1985	Merrill Lynch/Golf Digest Commemorative Pro-Am	–11 (61-72=133)	Playoff	Peter Thomson
5	Aug 4, 1985	Digital Seniors Classic	–8 (73-67-68=208)	Playoff	Jerry Barber, Don January
6	Sep 1, 1985	Citizens Union Senior Golf Classic	–7 (67-68=135)	Playoff	Orville Moody, Dan Sikes, Walt Zembriski
7	Aug 3, 1986	Merrill Lynch/Golf Digest Commemorative	–11 (67-64-68=199)	2 strokes	Chi-Chi Rodríguez
8	Nov 20, 1988	Gus Machado Senior Classic	–11 (67-70-65=202)	5 strokes	Al Geiberger

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (3–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1985	Merrill Lynch/Golf Digest Commemorative Pro-Am	Peter Thomson	Won with eagle on first extra hole
2	1985	Digital Seniors Classic	Jerry Barber, Don January	Elder won with birdie on first extra hole
3	1985	Citizens Union Senior Golf Classic	Orville Moody, Dan Sikes, Walt Zembriski	Elder won with birdie on third extra hole Moody eliminated with birdie on second hole

Results in major championships

Tournament	1966	1967	1968	1969
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	T57	CUT	CUT	67
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT

Tournament	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP	T19	T42	T17
U.S. Open	CUT	DNP	T29	T45	CUT	DNP	T35	CUT	T30	T11
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T36
PGA Championship	CUT	DNP	T24	T24	T11	DNP	T15	CUT	T42	T35

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984
Masters Tournament	CUT	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	CUT	T33	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	T26	T49	DNP	T80	CUT

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10

Summary

Tournament	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	2	6	3
U.S. Open	1	14	8
The Open Championship	0	1	1
PGA Championship	4	13	9
Totals	7	34	21

Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (1978 Masters – 1979 PGA)
Longest streak of top-10s – 0

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

Ryder Cup: 1979 (winners)

References

^ McDaniel, Pete (April 2000). "The trailblazer - Twenty-five years ago, Lee Elder became the first black golfer in the Masters". Golf Digest. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
^ "The Courage of Lee Elder". Sports Illustrated. April 7, 2008. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
^ "The man who defied death threats to play at the Masters". BBC News. Retrieved April 10, 2015.

External links

Lee Elder at the PGA Tour official site
Profile at afrogolf.com

[1] McDaniel, Pete (April 2000). "The trailblazer - Twenty-five years ago, Lee Elder became the first black golfer in the Masters". Golf Digest. Retrieved March 3, 2009.

[2] "The Courage of Lee Elder". Sports Illustrated. April 7, 2008. Retrieved March 3, 2009.

[3] "The man who defied death threats to play at the Masters". BBC News. Retrieved April 10, 2015.

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