The legacy of the United Golfers Association, which was founded 100 years ago, can be seen today every time players like Marcus Byrd and Chase Johnson put a tee into the ground.
The two talented young Black golfers have heard about the struggles for inclusion waged by golfers like Pete Brown, Ted Rhodes and Charlie Sifford at a time when the PGA of America had a “Caucasians only” clause in its bylaws. The rule stood until 1961.
The UGA – which featured a tournament hosted by legendary boxer and golf aficionado Joe Louis – gave those pioneers places to compete when the golf world was determined to keep them outside the ropes. The UGA operated from 1925-76, the year after Lee Elder became the first Black man to play in the Masters.
Byrd, who has competed in seven PGA TOUR events and is a standout on the Advocates Professional Golf Association Tour (APGA Tour), says it’s hard to conceive of the discrimination those trailblazers faced.
“I can only imagine,” Byrd says. “I talk about that all the time. I mean, that's what inspired me, just seeing the stories and hearing things about how people were treated back then, people of color who played golf, and it just inspired me to make sure that their fight is still fighting and that all the trials and tribulations that they went through inspired a generation of golfers that are ready to change the world.
“So that's the way I look at it, and that's how I view just being around them and learning from them.”
Johnson, who was a member of the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020 and is a two-time APGA Player of the Year, hopes he can have an impact, as well.
“That's why we are here,” he says. “They opened the doors for us, and you never know what is going to be the next door that's created … So if I can do 100th of what they did and be somewhat remembered by the end of my career, whether it's through wins or foundations, that's my biggest goal is to get to a point in my career to where I have the ability to really get behind organizations like the First Tee and APGA and situations to create opportunities for others as I can.
“That's the thing I'm actually most excited for in my career. So hopefully I can be somewhat influential to someone a hundred years after me.”
Johnson and Byrd, who finished 1-2, respectively, in the Cisco APGA Black History Month Classic at TPC Sawgrass on Wednesday, have their fathers, who were avid players, to thank for their interest in golf.
Tiger and Earl Woods were “our idols,” Johnson says of him and his dad Mel. But many of Byrd’s mentors could also be found at Langston Golf Club, a public facility in Washington, D.C., named for John Mercer Langston, a Black man who was the first dean of the law school at Howard University.