Sifford works on passing the torch
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Posted By: Jon C. on August 08, 2008 Vartan Kupelian and Mike O'Hara The Detroit News Charlie Sifford made a good life in golf, and a lasting imprint on it. He was the first African-American to play on the PGA Tour, and the first inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Sifford, now 86 and living in Highland Heights, northeast of Cleveland, has some regrets and hard feelings about the tough road he was forced to follow from the racism and segregation he encountered. He has one wish. He wants other African-Americans to get a helping hand. Sifford and Calvin Peete are making a number of appearances around town this week as a sidelight to the PGA Championship. There was a tribute to Sifford on Tuesday evening at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History. Peete and Sifford will be at Oakland Hills today. There are two stops this evening -- first at Palmer Park, then next door at the Detroit Golf Club. Advertisement Sifford played Palmer Park and Rackham years ago. Joe Louis, the late heavyweight boxing champion, had a passion for golf. Courses couldn't close the gates to Louis and his friends, and Sifford benefited from the opportunity. "Joe Louis, Billy Eckstine, Sugar Ray Robinson -- they used to help us," Sifford said. "Rackham, then Palmer Park, that's where we had to go. These athletes today, they don't care about helping anybody." Sifford wants to get African-Americans interested in golf early. "You can't wait until you get to be 20 or 30 years old," Sifford said. "You've got to start when you're young. When you're on a golf team in high school, then you go to college. It takes money to play golf." Sifford won the National Negro Open six times, including five straight (1952-56). On the PGA Tour, he won the Greater Hartford Open in 1967 and the Los Angeles Open in 1969. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004 in the Lifetime Achievement category. Sifford and Peete are giving clinics at Palmer Park and the Detroit Golf Club. Sifford chuckled about his role as a teacher. "I'm not too much into teaching," he said. "I didn't have time to teach. I was trying to make a dollar. I knew what I was supposed to do." No pain, no gain Lee Westwood was asked if he has any injury problems heading into the PGA Championship. "No, but I'm always capable of making one up," the Englishman said. Here's why: The first three major winners of 2008 all have had to deal with major health issues. • Trevor Immelman won the Masters after having surgery to remove a calcified fibrosis tumor on his diaphragm last December. The tumor was benign but the treatment and recovery forced him to miss the first two months this year. • Tiger Woods won the U.S. Open in June on a wounded left knee and a stress fracture. Just days later, he underwent a fourth surgery to repair the damage. • And a few weeks ago, Padraig Harrington won his second straight British Open despite a sore wrist, which, less than 24 hours before the first round, threatened to KO him. "Oh, my neck," Westwood said. Not an original Woody Austin takes a lot of kidding, but he thinks some of it goes too far. He has gotten tired of the reruns of the time he bent his putter over his forehead. At the Presidents Cup last year, he fell into a pond. The next day, he walked up the fairway wearing goggles. That got a laugh. At the first four pro-ams this year, a member of his group wore goggles. "They all thought they were the first guy," Austin said. He hasn't discarded the goggles, though. They're at home -- signed by his Presidents Cup teammates. Fluff stuff Mike "Fluff" Cowan is one of the best known caddies on tour. He was Woods' first caddy, and has carried for Jim Furyk since leaving Woods' camp. Fluff's flowing, white mustache -- not to mention the TV time he has gotten over the years -- make him recognizable to the galleries. Fluff's day was over in mid-afternoon Tuesday, and he was relaxing in an area away from the fans behind the 18th green. Somebody from about 40 yards away yelled for him to come over and sign an autograph. It might have been someone from the Tour pulling his leg, but it didn't get Fluff on his feet. "Does it look like I'm about to get up and walk over there?" Fluff said to someone standing nearby. "I'm done walking for the day." BlackGolfNet - the #1 online community for African American Golf Enthusiasts target=_blank>www.blacknews.com If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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Jon C.
Benefits Management Analyst, State of Ohio Hampton University class of 2004 Member Since July 2003 |
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