CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Civil rights pioneer and golfer, Charlie Sifford, died Tuesday. He was 92.
He suffered from a stroke three weeks ago according to the Charlotte Observer.
Sifford was known for breaking the PGA Tour color barrier, becoming the first African-American to play on the tour.
He grew up in Charlotte and spent his early years caddying on Charlotte’s whites-only golf courses.
He won the Negro National Open six times before he played in the PGA tournament.
In 1961 Sifford played in the Greater Greensboro Open at the Sedgefield Country Club, becoming the first African-American to play in a PGA event in the South. He won twice during his career.
In 2004 he became the first African-American to be inducted in to the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Sifford was honored for his pioneering career when President Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom last November.
