July 1, 2021 | BY PETE MCDANIEL
“Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.’’
That belief, espoused by Austrian composer/conductor Gustav Mahler, is relevant in a convergence of two events this summer that honor both the past and present in celebration of Black Golf’s “hard road to glory.’’ Both events, the inaugural John Shippen National Invitational and the 61st Skyview Open Golf Tournament, are stoking the embers first fueled by pioneers who loved the game enough to forge a lasting tradition of competitiveness and dogged determination to find a place in the sun.
Pioneers like Shippen, the “Father of Black Golf’’ and the country’s first native-born professional golfer. Like heavyweight champion Joe Louis, who became the first African American to play in a PGA-sanctioned tournament (1952). Like John Brooks Dendy, winner of three Negro National Open championships. Like Pete Brown, who became the first African American to win a PGA-sanctioned event (1964). Like Dr. Charles Sifford, who broke the color barrier (1961) in professional golf; the only African American inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame (2004). Like Lee Elder, who became the first African American invited to compete in the Masters (1975). Like Calvin Peete, who won 12 times on the PGA Tour in the 1970s and 1980s, second only to Tiger Woods in number of wins by a player of African-American descent.
Footsteps On Golf’s Backroads
Like dozens of other champions in the annals of history whose footsteps on golf’s backroads led 33 (21 male and 12 female) players of color to the recent John Shippen National Invitational at the historic Detroit Golf Club. At stake was an exemption in this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic awarded the first-place finisher among the males in the 36-hole competition, and two exemptions in a pair of LPGA events awarded to the top finishers among the females.
Forty-eight-year-old journeyman Tim O’Neal edged fellow developmental tour veteran Kevin Hall by two strokes to secure the exemption, while local favorite and former LPGA Tour member Shasta Averyhardt teamed with Anita Uwadia to claim the exemption in the Dow Great Lakes Invitational, also a team event. Seventeen-year-old phenom Amari Avery won the three-hole shoot-out to earn an exemption in the Cognizant Founder’s Cup scheduled this fall.
The tournament is a testament to efforts by the industry to increase diversity and inclusion in the game. Detroit Golf Club is noteworthy in that it is only a few miles from Rackham Golf Course, site of the Joe Louis Open back in the day. Louis, known for his assists to aspiring professionals through sponsorship of tournaments that provided Black golfers, restricted from playing on the PGA Tour, opportunities to compete. The Donald Ross course was also the home to the late Ben Davis, legendary head pro and instructor to Joe Louis. Davis is thought to be the first African-American head pro at a municipal golf course.
Two weeks from now the 61st Skyview Open will be contested at the Asheville (NC) Municipal Golf Course, another Donald Ross creation. The course and the tournament–one of the oldest Black Golf Tour events–were featured in the documentary “Muni,’’ which aired on Golf Channel earlier this year.
The 54-hole tournament, hosted by the Skyview Golf Association, debuted in 1960 with a field of 50 players, most of them African Americans. The tour itself included a number of stops at municipals along the East Coast from Eufaula, Ala., north to Washington D.C. Pros and amateurs from around the country marked their calendars for the second week in July and the spirited pro-am in the mountains of Western North Carolina.
All of the “big-name’’ Black pros played in the Skyview. Lee Elder, Chuck Thorpe, James Black, Jesse Allen and Bobby Stroble are among those players who won the tournament multiple times.
The tournament has struggled financially in the past, but recently experienced a resurgence through the efforts of creative marketers and fundraisers. Several sponsors have signed on this year providing a significant increase in the total purse for regular and senior pros. Several years ago, the tournament added a junior division to encourage youth participation in the game while placing them in the same arena as walking history.
It is further proof that the pioneers’ footsteps are leading Black Golf into the future while honoring the past and keeping the fire burning.
ABOUT PETE McDANIEL
Pete McDaniel is a veteran golf writer and best-selling author. His blogs and books are available at petemcdaniel.com. Comments on this blog may be emailed directly to Pete at gdmcd@aol.com or visit his Facebook page.
