RIP Charlie Sifford

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silverscreenselect · #1 Post by **silverscreenselect** » Wed Feb 04, 2015 10:27 am

First black golfer to play regularly and win on the PGA tour. He won two tournaments in the 1960s but never played in the Masters (both his wins occurred before the passage of the Civil Rights Act, when segregation in the South was widespread). Eligibility rules were different for the Masters then; under current rules anyone winning a tournament gets an invitation the next year. Lee Elder became the first black golfer at the Masters in 1975. Last year, he became the third golfer to win the Presidential Medal of Freedom, following Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.

Age 92.

http://espn.go.com/golf/story/_/id/1227 ... er-dies-92