First black golfer to play in the Masters will be an honorary starter next year but Lee Elder’s achievement deserved to be recognised sooner
Until Lee Elder played the Masters in 1975, most of the black people at Augusta National were there working as caddies, cooks, and waiters. When Elder came up the 18th fairway at the end of his first round, those staff came out of the clubhouse to clap him home.
“The other patrons cleared the way for them to come to the front, and they were instantly recognisable by their uniforms,” Elder told Golf Digest years later. “This moved me very deeply. I couldn’t hold back the tears. One club employee shouted in this booming voice that rose above the applause: ‘Thank you for coming, Mr Elder!’ Other employees, taking his cue, shouted the same thing.”
Related: Augusta National names Lee Elder an honorary starter for Masters 2021
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