AUGUSTA, Ga. — Fifty years ago, when Lee Elder broke barriers as the first Black golfer at the Masters, he preferred to keep his thoughts to himself.
`I`m not talking,` Elder told reporters on April 7, 1975. `Every time I speak, it causes problems.`
His wife and agent confirmed his stance. `Lee believes this is the fairest approach,` Rose Elder explained. `He is here to play golf and wishes to be undisturbed.`
However, Elder`s caddie, Henry J. Brown, a taxi driver in Augusta, Georgia, was never one to shy away from speaking his mind. He confidently declared that if Elder didn`t perform well against golf giants like Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Johnny Miller, it wouldn`t be due to his caddying.
`I`m the best,` Brown asserted. `I can navigate this course in reverse. I know every inch of it. Lee just needs to stay composed. I guarantee he won`t be out-caddied.`
While Elder made history that week as the first Black player in the prestigious tournament at the exclusive Augusta National, his achievement also brought to light Henry Brown, a vibrant personality whose story has remained largely untold for fifty years.
`Henry Brown was quite a character and an excellent golfer,` recalled Dave Wilmes, who became friends with Brown after he moved to South Bend, Indiana, in the early 1980s. `He was a master on the course, especially with his short game. He loved to show off his skills.`
For the Masters` first 40 years, participants were exclusively white golfers, and caddies were Black. By the early 1970s, Brown hoped Elder`s presence could change this. For four years, he requested to caddie for Elder if he qualified for the Masters.
Elder qualified after winning his first PGA Tour event at the Monsanto Open on April 21, 1974, defeating Peter Oosterhuis in a playoff. Soon after, Masters chairman Clifford Roberts announced Elder`s invitation to the 1975 tournament.
Although Pete Brown and Charlie Sifford were Black golfers who won on the PGA Tour before Elder, his victory was significant as it occurred after the Masters changed its entry rules to include Black players.
When Elder arrived at Augusta National in a limousine, Brown was there to greet him. Despite his self-assurance, Brown wasn`t considered Augusta National`s top caddie. That honor was typically attributed to Willie Peterson, who caddied for Nicklaus`s early Masters wins; Willie `Pappy` Stokes, who contributed to five wins for four golfers; or Nathaniel `Iron Man` Avery, who assisted Arnold Palmer in four victories. However, Brown had already witnessed a major historic event at Augusta.
In the 1968 Masters, Brown caddied for Roberto De Vicenzo, who famously missed a playoff due to signing an incorrect scorecard, a significant error in sports history.
De Vicenzo birdied the 17th hole to tie for the lead with Bob Goalby, but his playing partner mistakenly recorded a par on his scorecard. Because De Vicenzo signed the incorrect scorecard, the higher score stood, placing him one shot behind Goalby, who won the Masters. Had De Vicenzo caught the error, he would have entered a playoff.
After losing his chance at the Masters title, De Vicenzo famously lamented, `What a stupid I am.` Brown later told golf writer John Fineran that he tried to confront Aaron, believing he had wronged De Vicenzo.
Later, Brown also caddied for Goalby and 1959 Masters champion Art Wall Jr.
As Elder prepared to tee off at the 1975 Masters, he was understandably anxious. He joked about almost lighting a pencil instead of a cigarette earlier that week. To ease the tension, he asked the crowd about the weather as it began to drizzle.
Jim Brown, former NFL star and actor, watched as Elder teed off. Elder`s supporters were also present; he had requested many badges, receiving more than legends like Nicklaus and Palmer.
Despite initial jitters fading, Elder and Brown`s caddie-player relationship started a bit rough. Brown preferred judging distances visually, unlike Elder who relied on precise measurements.
`Henry was very likeable, but his caddie style wasn`t right for me,` Elder mentioned in 2021. `I usually played by yardage. He preferred to just hand me a club instead of figuring out the exact distance.`
Elder settled down after a birdie on the second hole, but then bogeyed the next two par-5s. He finished the first round with a 2-over 74, seven shots behind the leader but only three outside the top ten. The top 44 and ties would make the cut.
Elder struggled in windy second-round conditions, shooting a 6-over 78 and missing the cut.
`I messed up,` Elder admitted. `I started poorly and was erratic. I was too busy admiring the scenery.`
Brown, however, recognized Elder’s professionalism. `You can tell when a golfer is nervous—they get irritable,` Brown noted after the first round. `I didn`t see any of that in him.`
Brown was indeed a skilled golfer himself. De Vicenzo, when asked about Brown caddying for Elder, praised him as a `fine caddie` and surprisingly added, `I think he could beat me.`
Ike `Stabber` Choice, who started caddying at Augusta National in the late 1960s, remembers Brown playing golf with his brother, Charlie Choice. Black golfers would frequently visit Augusta Municipal Golf Course, known as the Patch, where Brown and others often won against them.
`He could score low at the Patch because he was accustomed to it,` Ike Choice told ESPN. `He knew the course intricacies and how the ball would react.`
Brown played with a cross-handed grip and was ambidextrous on the course. He often played at the Patch with fellow Augusta National caddies like Tommy `Burnt Biscuits` Bennett, Jariah `Bubba` Beard, `Cigarette` Bobby Jones, and Jim Dent, who caddied for Goalby and later won multiple times on the Senior PGA Tour.
In 1980, Larry Adamson from the USGA received a memorable letter from Brown, written from Richmond County Jail. Brown was detained on charges from 1979, which he was not indicted for.
In his letter to Adamson, Brown requested a chance to qualify for the U.S. Open after his release, as he had missed the initial qualifier due to his imprisonment.
Adamson informed Brown that he had missed the deadline for the 1980 U.S. Open qualifiers. Undeterred, Brown then asked Adamson to send USGA executive P.J. Boatwright Jr. to help get him released, suggesting Boatwright could verify his golf score for qualification.
Adamson clarified to Brown that golf qualifications did not work that way.
In 1996, Brown mentioned in the USGA`s Golf Journal that he had joked with Adamson about being handcuffed between shots during his qualifier attempt.
Upon release, Brown contacted Adamson again, asserting his innocence and requesting to register for the 1981 U.S. Open qualifier. Adamson agreed to send an application.
Brown provided an address at a salvage yard in South Bend. He returned the application, but again missed the deadline and didn`t include the entry fee.
Robert Lee, who managed U.S. Open qualifiers in northern Indiana, recalls Brown visiting South Bend Country Club in early 1981, presenting his Augusta National caddie ID and confidently declaring his intention to win the U.S. Open.
Brown used the salvage yard address because he spent Fridays there for extra income, entertaining coworkers with golf stories and trick shots.
Lee described how Brown would gather workers and perform golf tricks, betting he could hit specific targets like cars in the yard, showcasing his ambidextrous skills to win bets.
Lee noted Brown`s skill with Slazenger irons and his exceptional wedge game.
Brown eventually applied on time for the 1982 U.S. Open qualifier at South Bend Country Club. On the day, his car arrived with a flat tire, causing a commotion in the parking lot.
Despite the disruption, Brown played and tied for the lead, qualifying for the sectional stage.
A local TV station interviewed Brown after his qualifier win as women arrived to change his tire during the interview.
At the sectional qualifier near Chicago, Brown narrowly missed qualifying for the 1982 U.S. Open by one stroke. He reached sectional qualifying for the next three years but never advanced to the major championship.
Adamson remembered Brown`s positive attitude despite setbacks, unlike many others who faced similar disappointments.
In 1992, John Fineran encountered a car with Georgia plates and an Augusta National hat at a hospital, realizing Brown`s health had worsened.
Brown passed away on July 22, 1992, at 53, leaving behind a legacy of unrealized potential.
Jim Murray, a columnist, highlighted Brown’s life in 1975, detailing his upbringing in Augusta, his early caddying career at both Augusta Municipal and National, and his dual life as a caddie and taxi driver.
Murray reflected that while Brown was a talented golfer, unlike Johnny Miller, his background limited his opportunities. He suggested that had Brown been white, his life`s trajectory might have been dramatically different.
