Charlie Sifford - the first African-American to play the US Open

Charlie Sifford became the first African-American to play in the US Open in 1959 at Winged Foot.

Charlie Sifford began playing golf whilst he was a young caddie in Charlotte, North Carolina in the early 1930s.

When he was 17, he moved to Philadelphia and began to play more often, but primarily with fellow black players in self-organised tournaments. He didn’t turn pro until 1948 and won the first of his 6 United Gold Association National Negro Opens in 1952.

Following a number of years of fighting against prejudice and through great adversity, he finally got the chance to compete in the US Open in 1959 at Winged Foot Golf Club, New York. He finished tied for 32nd place.

In 1961, he joined the PGA Tour, becoming the first African-American to do so and paving the way for people from ethnic minorities to play golf thereafter. Tiger Woods often acknowledged that Sifford paved the way for not only his, but many other golfers' careers.

In 2004, Sifford was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, and in 2014 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama. In addition to this, in 2006 he was awarded an Honorary Degree from the University of St Andrews, and in 2011 the Revolution Park Golf Course became the Dr Charles L/ Sifford Golf Course at Revolution Park.