\"And, of course, he became the first African- American to win a major championship of golf, in a tournament that did not have its first black competitor until Lee Elder broke the color barrier there in 1975.
Elder had flown up from his south Florida home Sunday morning and was standing no more than 50 yards away when Woods arrived at the first tee for his final round. As Woods put his peg in the ground, the second floor balcony of the Augusta National clubhouse was mostly occupied by many of the people who worked there, men and women of color, some in white waiter jackets, a few still carrying the brooms and dust bins they used to keep the place immaculate for a club that had only two black members at the time.
As Woods prepared to hit his first shot, Elder had tears in his eyes when he said, “No one will turn their head when a black man walks to the first tee.”
As Woods came out of the Butler Cabin, where he was helped into his new green jacket by Faldo for the CBS cameras, he happened to spot Elder outside in the milling crowd.
“Thanks for making this possible,” he whispered in his ear before being swept along to his post-round interview in the media center where he also paid tribute to other black golfers who never had the opportunity to play in a Masters.
“I wasn’t the pioneer,” he said. “Charlie Sifford, Lee Elder and Ted Rhodes played that role. I thank them. I was thinking about them and what they’ve done for me. I said a little prayer and said thanks to those guys. You are the ones who did it for me.”
http://www.globalgolfpost.com/opinion/tiger%E2%80%99s-coming-out-party/
