Lee Elder, the first Black golfer to compete in the Masters, has died at 87

Kelly McLaughlin
Updated ·1 min read
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  • Golfer Lee Elder died on Sunday, aged 87.

  • Elder became the first Black golfer to compete in the Masters tournament in 1975.

  • He was also the first Black player to compete in the Ryder Cup when he made the team in 1979.

Lee Elder, the first Black golfer to compete in the Masters tournament, died on Sunday.

He was 87.

News of Elder's death was first reported by African-American Golf Magazine on Monday morning. The cause of death has not been made public.

Elder made history as the first Black golfer to compete in the Masters in 1975, and he went on to make five additional appearances in the tournament, Golf Digest reported.

He was also the first Black player to compete in the Ryder Cup when he made the team in 1979.

Elder told Golf Digest in 2020 that making the Ryder Cup team was his "proudest" accomplishment.

PGA Tour shared a video highlighting Elder's career on Monday, and said his legacy would "surely live on."

Read the original article on Insider