November 11, 2020 | BY AAGD STAFF
Lee Elder was the first Black golfer to compete in the Masters, in 1975. Then, 40-year-old Elder made history and golf at Augusta National was changed forever. Augusta National has always existed in a bubble, a byproduct of a famously private club consolidating its influence and then enforcing it over the decades while maintaining practices that, throughout most of its storied history, were exclusionary and racist, according to a New York Times article. At week’s tournament, the recognition of Lee Elder is bringing the history of this PGA Major event to the forefront.
Chairman Fred Ridley detailed the honors for Lee Elder, including two named scholarships per year at Paine College, the establishment of a women’s golf team at the school and a position for Elder as an honorary starter at the 2021 Masters.
Follow @themasters on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themasters/ Follow @TheMasters on Twitter: https://twitter.com/themasters Follow @TheMasters on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheMasters/
