Historically, professional golf has held fast to its tradition of lacking diversity among its players. But no brown on the green didn’t hold Charles Sifford back.
By age 13 he could shoot par consistently and had already decided to make golf his full-time job. The Charlotte, N.C. native would one day stand toe-to-toe in the majors with the best golfers in the game.
Born on June, 2 1922, Sifford’s early exposure to golf came about while working as a caddie. He earned 60 cents a day on the course and shared it with his mother.
During his early years on the green, he worked as a golfing coach and was a consistent winner of the non-PGA sanctioned events. He dominated the Negro National Open, capturing the title six times during the 1950s. Despite the racial tensions in golf, Sifford was never without encouragement from some of the best and most prominent athletes during that time: boxers “Sugar” Ray Robinson and Joe Louis, and Negro and Major League Baseball’s Don “Newk” Newcombe and Jackie Robinson.
This came about during the time when Civil Rights was starting to make inroads across America, pressuring the PGA to remove its Caucasian Only membership rules. Evidence of this became clear when African-American golfers Bill Spider and Teddy Rhodes qualified at the Los Angeles Open to earn automatic entry into the PGA sponsored Richmond Open in California.
Some unscrupulous officials, through legal sidestepping, convinced sponsors to agree to represent their tournaments as open invitationals to avoid inviting black players to compete in the events. In the meantime, Sifford continued to move forward.
In 1957, Sifford made history when he not only qualified but won the Long Beach Open, making him the first the African-American golfer to beat white players in a PGA cosponsored tournament. Four years later Sifford broke further ground when, under pressure from the California attorney general, the PGA permitted him full membership on its tour.
Sifford made history again in 1967 when he won the Greater Hartford Open — the first fully sanctioned PGA event ever won by an African American. Two years later he took home the top score at the 1969 Los Angeles Open.
His career included 422 PGA tournaments, coming in second twice, registering five third-place finishes, and winning nearly $350,000 in prize money. He boasted equally success on the Seniors Tour.
In 2004, Sifford was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, the 104th athlete and first African American to receive the honor. In 2009, the Charlie Sifford Exemption, which allows for the invitation of a player to the Northern Trust Open (formerly the Los Angeles Open) who represents the advancement of golf’s diversity, was formed.
Sifford paved the way for future African-American golfers including Lee Elder, the first black to play the Masters in 1975; Calvin Peete, who won 12 PGA victories; and Tiger Woods. A legend on the green, Sifford died in Cleveland, Ohio on February 3, 2015 following a stroke. He was 92.