Four-time PGA Tour winner Lee Elder dies at age 87

Lee Elder (Google Images)

Four-time PGA Tour winner Lee Elder of Dallas, Texas passed away on Sunday at the age of 87 according to Bill Fields of the PGA Tour. Elder was at the center of the golf world at the Masters this past April, as he was a participant in the ceremonial start alongside golf legends Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.

Elder is known for being the first African American golfer to ever compete at the Masters. In Augusta in 1975, Elder missed the cut. His best result at a major tournament was a tie for 11th at the 1974 PGA Championship and the 1979 United States Open.

Elder qualified for the 1975 Masters by winning the 1974 Monsanto Open in Gulf Breeze, Florida. He won on the fourth hole of a playoff over Peter Oostherhuis of England. Elder’s other PGA Tour wins came at the 1976 Houston Open, the 1978 Greater Milwaukee Open, and the 1978 American Express Westchester Classic.

Elder’s most notable win of his career came at the 1978 Greater Milwaukee Open. There he defeated Lee Trevino of Garland, Texas in an eight-hole playoff. The eight-hole playoff is tied for the second longest playoff in PGA history. The longest playoff was 11 holes, which saw Carey Middlecoff and Lloyd Magrum tie the 1949 Motor City Open. There was an eight-hole playoff in 2021. At the Travelers Championship in Connecticut, Harris English beat Kramer Hickok on the eighth hole. 

Trevino, who is of Mexican descent, won six majors in his career. He won the 1968 and 1971 United States Open, the 1971 and 1972 British Open, and the 1974 and 1984 PGA Championship. However in Milwaukee in 1978, he was beaten by Elder in one of the greatest golf duos of all-time.

In 1979, Elder continued to make golf history. He was the first African American to participate in the Ryder Cup. In Friday four-ball action, Elder teamed up with American John Bean and beat Peter Oosterhuis and Nick Faldo 2&1. The United States beat Europe 17-11 from the Greenbrier Course in West Virginia.

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