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Album Title: Pioneers Of The Game
Album Splash Image:
Album Description:
To celebrate Black History Month, the USGA honors African-American players who carved their own paths in the sport.
Image:
Photo Description:
John Shippen became the first African-American to compete in a U.S. Open, doing so in 1896 at Shinnecock Hills. (USGA Museum)
In the 1950s, Ted Rhodes became an instrumental figure in advancing the game for minorities. (USGA Museum)
Bill Wright's 1959 triumph at the U.S. Amateur Public Links made the Seattle, Wash., native the first African-American USGA champion. (USGA Museum)
At the 1956 U.S. Women's Amateur in Indianapolis, Ann Gregory became the first female African-American to play in a USGA championship. (USGA Museum)
Althea Gibson was a Wimbledon tennis champion before joining the LPGA Tour as its first African-American member. (USGA Museum)
Ann Gregory was a national minority champion before taking her game to the USGA stage at the 1956 U.S. Women's Amateur. (USGA Museum)
C.T. Bell, left, Alfred Holmes, center, and his brother Oliver W. Holmes played at an Atlanta public golf course after a Supreme Court ruling. (USGA Museum)
Charles Sifford was the first African-American to play on the PGA Tour. In 2009, the Sifford Exemption was created. (USGA Museum)
Ann Gregory poses with her caddie during the 1972 U.S. .Women's Open at Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, N.Y. (USGA Museum)
Barbara Douglas of Scottsdale, Ariz., will become the first minority to serve as the chairman of the Women's Committee. (USGA Museum)
Atlanta's Mariah Stackhouse is an up-and-coming golfer who advanced to the third round of match play at the 2008 U.S. Girls' Junior. (USGA Museum)
Cheyenne Woods, the niece of three-time U.S. Open champion Tiger Woods, parlayed her success as a junior golfer into a golf scholarship to Wake Forest. (USGA Museum)
Bill Wright, the 1959 APL champ, looks at his exhibit during the grand opening of the USGA Museum and Arnold Palmer Center for Golf History last June in Far Hills, N.J. (USGA Museum)
Newly appointed USGA Women's Committee Chairman Barbara Douglas has played a vital role in conducting USGA women's events. (USGA Museum)
Visit the USGA Museum Photo Collection Store
Charlie Sifford was a pioneer for African-American golfers who wanted to integrate into professional golf. He now has a golf course named in his honor in Charlotte, N.C.
Byron Nelson would have turned 100 years old on Feb. 4. The following images are a compilation of his brilliant career that included a victory at the 1939 U.S. Open.
A photo retrospective of outgoing USGA President Jim Hyler.
Barbara Douglas, who in 2009 became the first minority chairman of the USGA Women’s Committee, died in the morning on Jan. 27 at the age of 69.
Images of two-time U.S. Amateur Public Links champion Billy Tuten, who is now a high school golf coach and instructor in his adopted hometown of Houston.
Images of Becky (Lucidi) McDaid, who won the U.S. Women's Amateur in 2002 and is now a new mom and married to the head pro at Friar's Head in Long Island.