Poignant tribute
First Black golfer to play Augusta included in the ceremonial tee shot
Elder, first Black to play Augusta, at ceremonial tee shot.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — With the sun rising over his shoulders, Lee Elder was introduced to a crowd of several hundred on the first tee of the 85th Masters on Thursday morning. Fortysix years earlier, on roughly the same spot at Augusta National, Elder had teed off as the first Black man to play in the tournament.
“I was just so nervous,” Elder said, recalling the opening moments of his historic 1975 appearance.
But on Thursday morning, Elder was at ease and smiling, joining golf legends Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player as the first Black player included in a decades-long Masters tradition: a celebration of honorary starters who strike the first ceremonial shots of another Masters.
Elder, 86, was seated in a white patio chair on the first tee next to about 20 family members, friends and Black PGA golf professionals dressed in formal attire and aligned in a regal row. Recent issues with his mobility would prevent Elder from striking a shot Thursday, but he was greeted first by the chairman of the Augusta National Golf Club, Fred S. Ridley.
“Today, Lee Elder will inspire us and make history once again — not with a drive, but with his presence, strength and character,” Ridley said.
Using the golf vernacular reserved for a player who, by a leading performance, has earned the right to tee off first, Ridley added, “Lee, it is my privilege to say you have the honors.”
Elder pushed at the armrests of his chair to rise but wavered as he tried to stand until Player stepped forward and placed a hand under Elder’s left arm to lift him into an upright posture. Turning to the surrounding congregation, Elder nodded his head with a wave of his left hand, then raised the driver in his right hand as if to answer the ovation that endured for 40 seconds. Elder, with a grin, then returned to his seat.
Elder’s role in the first tee ceremony, viewed as long overdue, has been much anticipated since it was announced last year and then delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. The symbolism of his appearance was not lost at a time when the country is undergoing a racial justice reckoning — Augusta didn’t admit its first Black member until 1990 and its first woman unil 2012.
But for a long moment Thursday, the focus seemed to be on enveloping Elder in a tribute.
Elder, who was born in Dallas and worked as a caddie at Tenison Park, recalled he won 21 of 23 events in 1966 on the United Golf Association tour, a series of tournaments for African American golfers at a time when they were regularly excluded from other top professional golf events. The next year, he bid to join the PGA Tour — he needed to provide a copy of a bank statement balance of $6,500 — and by 1969 found himself in a playoff to win the prestigious Firestone Open in Nicklaus’ native state of Ohio.
As Elder told the story, Nicklaus, who was seated next to him, interjected, “I robbed you, didn’t I?”
Elder turned to Nicklaus, “You did.”
Nicklaus explained he made three putts of more than 35 feet to keep the playoff alive. Finally, Nicklaus prevailed to win.
“He got lucky,” said Elder, who unsuccessfully suppressed a snicker, even a giggle.
He was day. having
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