Charlie Sifford: Golfer who challenged the sporting establishment and became the first black man to join the US PGA tour
Sifford achieved more than he imagined, despite enduring racial taunts and threats
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Charlie Sifford broke the colour barrier in golf as the first US PGA Tour member. A proud man who endured racial taunts and threats, Sifford set modest goals and achieved more than he imagined. He challenged the Caucasian-only clause and the PGA rescinded it in 1961. He won the Greater Hartford Open in 1967 and the Los Angeles Open in 1969.
In 2004 he became the first black player to inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Last November, Barack Obama presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom; Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer are the only other golfers to receive that honour.
The one goal that eluded him was the Masters, which did not invite its first black player until Lee Elder in 1975. Sifford remained bitter, though the pain was eased when Tiger Woods won the first of his four green jackets in 1997. Woods has said he would not have played golf if not for Sifford and other black pioneers.
In his autobiography Just Let Me Play Sifford told of meeting Jackie Robinson around the time Robinson was trying to break the colour barrier in baseball: "He asked me if I was a quitter. I told him no. He said, 'If you're not a quitter, you're probably going to experience some things that will make you want to quit.'"
During the 1952 Phoenix Open, one of the few events that blacks could enter, Sifford found human faeces in the cup when he got to the first green. He received death threats over the phone at the 1961 Greater Greensboro Open and heard racial slurs as he walked the fairways. He finished fourth, and didn't quit.
He later received an honorary doctorate degree from the University of St Andrews.
DOUG FERGUSON
Charles Sifford, golfer: born Charlotte, North Carolina 22 June 1922; died 3 February 2015.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments