Charlotte native and golf icon will be honored with a new statue
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Autograph Card Of Charlie Sifford in 1962. Photo: Augusta National/Getty Images
A statue of legendary golfer Charlie Sifford is coming to the Trail of History in midtown.
Why it matters: Sifford, a Charlotte native, became the first Black golfer to play in the PGA Tour in 1961. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014.
Driving the news: The statue is the latest nod to Sifford. The Truist Championship announced Wednesday it will donate $125,000 for the $250,000 statue as part of its Truist Tuesday.
- The Truist Championship's Truist Tuesday, one of several community initiatives Truist rolled Wednesday, will begin the week of Charlotte's annual PGA Tour event (May 5).
- The monthly series will support local organizations starting with the Trail of History.
- The exact location and date the statue will be unveiled are TBD.
Zoom in: The Trail of History runs along Little Sugar Creek Greenway in midtown, highlighting the city's historic figures from Captain James Jack to civil rights attorney Julius Chambers.
Flashback: "We didn't have golf in school when I was there, and Blacks weren't allowed to play at the country club," Sifford told The Charlotte Post in 2011.
- "I started playing golf because I loved the game, and I love it because it requires you to use your brain."
What they're saying: Quail Hollow Club president and prominent Charlotte developer Johnny Harris remembers sitting at the dinner table growing up and his father saying, "I really do believe, there's not a better player in Charlotte than my caddie, Charlie."
- "I didn't know who Charlie was at the beginning," Harris said during Wednesday's announcement. "Then I finally realized it was Charlie Sifford."
- Sifford had what Harris described as a "little edge to him, meaning he could beat you to death if he wanted to gamble for a $1 ... Charlie Sifford was somebody who looked at you, cared about you, but he also loved to beat you."
- Years later, Harris and his brother were paired with Sifford in a Pro Am at Quail Hollow Club. Sifford spent the round sharing stories of all the Black golfers who came after him in Charlotte who were great players but weren't given a chance to play.
- "It's great to bring that history together with this tournament and to do it in a full way where people understand, we all respect what Charlie Sifford accomplished and what he did, not only for Charlotte and bringing people together, but for the game," Harris said.
What's next: The Truist Championship heads to Quail Hollow Club in South Charlotte in May.
