On a bright late spring afternoon, the silver cup symbolizing the United States Open Golf Champion was lifted to the sun and kissed by the number one player of golf on the entire planet earth. He earned this passionate moment after limping his way through ninety-one holes of excellence and hell. At times, he played as if he were a Sunday golfer who had more daydreams of greatness than game, as his ball careened off of trees and barely missed taking out spectators. However, at the times that counted most, he looked like a pro golfer, the best of his generation and generations to come. He looked exactly like Tiger Woods. What billions of people see and who they saw had no color. He had champion. He had legend. He embodied the game. No television commentator began making the obligatory how far we have come references. They didn’t mention that the golf tee was invented by and patented by George Grant, African American. Or that it wasn’t until 1975 that Lee Elder became the first black to play at the Masters Tournament at Augusta National or that it took until 1991 for Augusta National to admit it’s first black member. No, on this late spring day and any day to follow, Tiger Woods, even more so than Michael Jordan because his talent rested in basketball, has transformed a sport. Woods, has changed golf so that any person of color. Any person period, can show up with clubs in hand and be suspect of becoming one word, champion. And when they do become champion, they are compared to all champions.
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