Dontae Duff

[PGA TOUR @PGATOUR]

Thirty-five years before he became the first African American inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, Charlie Sifford won the 1969 @TheGenesisInv in his adopted hometown of Los Angeles.

He did so at age 46, outlasting much younger peers despite feeling under the weather throughout the week. “I hate playing golf without a cigar,” Sifford said later. "I get nervous and uncomfortable ... but every time I tried to smoke one that week, I started coughing my head off.”

But as he did throughout his life and career, Sifford persevered.

Sifford was born in 1922 in North Carolina, and he learned the game by caddying for 60 cents a day in Charlotte. He turned professional in 1948 and won the National Negro Open six times (including five straight wins from 1952 to 1956), his career largely funded by singer Billy Eckstein, for whom he worked as personal teaching pro and valet.

Sifford made his U.S. Open debut in 1959, and he was given an “approved player” card at the end of 1960, becoming the first Black golfer to play on the PGA TOUR (then run by the PGA of America) as the PGA struck down its Caucasian-only clause. He earned his first TOUR title at the 1967 Travelers Championship at age 45, leading to his emotional victory at The Genesis Invitational two years later.

Sifford didn’t feel his best that week at Los Angeles’ long-running TOUR event, then contested at public-access Rancho Park Golf Course. But he was hot out of the gates with an opening-round 63 that included a scintillating six-hole stretch in 7 under.

He stayed in contention through the final round, where he made birdie at the 16th hole to pull even with Harold Henning and ultimately won with a 9-iron to 3 feet for birdie on the first playoff hole.

“There’s nothing like being ahead on the last day in your hometown,” Sifford recalled in his autobiography, “Just Let Me Play.”

Sifford was later honored with a parade in L.A.’s Watts neighborhood on Feb. 3, which had been proclaimed as Charlie Sifford Day. There was a party that evening at a nightclub called the Black Fox.

“It’s just so wonderful to think that a black man can take a golf club and be so famous,” he told the crowd at the nightclub. “I just wish I could call back 10 years.”

“A decade earlier, of course, he would have been in his prime,” recalled Helen Ross in a 2019 PGA TOUR article. “But the PGA’s Caucasian-only clause wasn’t lifted until 1961 and even after it was, Sifford and other black golfers still battled to find places to play the game they loved.”

Sifford’s legacy endures at The Genesis Invitational through the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption, which has been given since 2009 to a deserving golfer from a minority background to play in The Genesis Invitational. Sahith Theegala is this year’s recipient.

“If it wasn't for Charlie and others who paved the way, I don't think my dad would have ever played the game of golf,” said Tiger Woods, host of The Genesis Invitational. “And hence, I probably wouldn't be … involved in the game like I am.”

Sifford died in 2015 at age 92, yet his impact on the game lives on.

[Grayson Smith @Smith_Gray2027]

Grateful to have earned my second D1 offer from the University of North Texas.
@coachjordan03 @UNTFootball @MeanGreenFB @Coach_NealBrown @FootballSvale @CSmithBball @CodyStutts

[KC Ekwu🇳🇬 @KCEkwu]

Week 4 Van Highlights.
https://t.co/ovFfQaNJvW

[KC Ekwu🇳🇬 @KCEkwu]

KC Ekwu Senior Highlights.
6'5 3⭐️OT
Updating Every week.
https://t.co/rtauYqX5MF

[KC Ekwu🇳🇬 @KCEkwu]

#AGTG Committed. @MeanGreenFB #GMG @dontae_duff @RaiderBuilt @Coach_Crill @sterling__trey @247recruiting @rivalshs

[Cooper Eastman @Big_Coop75]

Fully Committed!!!

@CoachLobotzke @coachskene3 @sterling__trey @CodyStutts @CivilAirPatrol

[KC Ekwu🇳🇬 @KCEkwu]

#AGTG After a great conversation with @CoachNickGrimes I’m blessed to receive my 6th D1 Offer from Arkansas State University! #WolvesUp @FootballSvale @dontae_duff @ArkansasStateFB @CodyStutts

[Logan Tuley-Tillman @LoganTillman]

Thanks 6’5 300 lbs ‘26 @KCEkwu for the effort & focus in his @LT2FBA training 🔥

[Cooper Eastman @Big_Coop75]

After an amazing visit I am blessed to receive my third D1 offer from @DartmouthFTBL

[Dontae Duff @dontae_duff]

So proud of you Cooper!

[Cooper Eastman @Big_Coop75]

After a great call with @coachskene3 I am blessed to receive my second Division 1 offer to @AF_Football!!!!!!!!!!

@sterling__trey @dontae_duff @FootballSvale

[Cooper Eastman @Big_Coop75]

After a great call with @coachskene3 I am blessed to receive my second Division 1 offer to @AF_Football!!!!!!!!!!

@sterling__trey @dontae_duff @FootballSvale

[KC Ekwu🇳🇬 @KCEkwu]

#AGTG After a great conversation with @SCumbie_LaTech I’m blessed to receive my 4th D1 offer from LA Tech! Thanks to @CoachNate_Young @LATechFB @FootballSvale @sterling__trey!

[Cooper Eastman @Big_Coop75]

After a great call with @CoachBhakta , I am blessed to receive my first D1 offer to @BigRed_Football!

[Dave Campbell's — TexasFootball.com @dctf]

NEW: We have now added a page dedicated to the Prairie View Interscholastic League state champions.

The PVIL was the governing body of Black high school extracurricular activities in Texas from 1920-1967 before it merged with the UIL.

Full archive: https://t.co/CpMuwqucvW

[KC Ekwu🇳🇬 @KCEkwu]

#AGTG I’m blessed to receive a D1 offer from the University of North Texas! Thanks to @MeanGreenFB @CutterLeftwich @FootballSvale @CodyStutts!

[KC Ekwu🇳🇬 @KCEkwu]

#AGTG Blessed to receive an offer from UTSA! Thanks to @KurtTraylor @CoachPeterGray @Coach_TPreston! #BirdsUp🧡 @CodyStutts @FootballSvale

[Clayton Neff @bigNeff62]

Blessed to receive my 2nd offer from McPherson College!!

@CodyStutts @MACBulldogsFB @FootballSvale @CoachJFisc @dontae_duff

[Dontae Duff @dontae_duff]

Proud of You! First of Many!

[KC Ekwu🇳🇬 @KCEkwu]

Blessed to receive my first D1 offer from Lamar! Thanks for stopping by @Coach_Cannata #BOOMTOWN @FootballSvale @LamarFootball @CodyStutts

[KC Ekwu🇳🇬 @KCEkwu]

Blessed to receive my first D1 offer from Lamar! Thanks for stopping by @Coach_Cannata #BOOMTOWN @FootballSvale @LamarFootball @CodyStutts

[Clayton Neff @bigNeff62]

Sr. Season highlights!! Direct messages are open!

https://t.co/EHjYJ2CVlq

Thank you to all who’ve helped me on my journey!!

@CoachOrtizOL @Clintanderson_ @dontae_duff @CodyStutts @NeffClay @lenzielouzie @FootballSvale