Golfing icon Lee Elder was recently honored by the PGA as a First Tee Starter, joining the likes of Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. Himself an aficionado of the sport, Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry could not let the momentous occasion pass without honoring Elder.
Curry had a special pair of sneakers designed to pay homage to the first African American who ever played in The Masters (h/t Monte Poole of NBCS):
Stephen Curry’s shoes tonight, a shoutout to Lee Elder, who in 1975 became the first Black man to play in The Masters golf tournament. pic.twitter.com/qv3iNp9RqH
— Monte Poole (@MontePooleNBCS) April 10, 2021
The Warriors guard himself posted a couple of photos of himself wearing his tribute kicks for Elder:
S/o to the man who changed golf for GOOD 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/1oBYbwJErv
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) April 11, 2021
The Golden State star also posted this message via Twitter:




Special day. In 1975 Lee Elder broke the color barrier at The Masters, this morning he joins as an honorary starter. As Lee says, you gotta “stay the course” and we all gotta stay the course to continue what Lee started with expanding access to the sport. Congrats to this legend. pic.twitter.com/TqNDiB6DEH
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) April 8, 2021
Curry clearly holds Elder in such high regard. The Warriors superstar considers the golfing legend not only as an icon of the sport but perhaps more importantly, as a trailblazer for the African American community.
Curry will be dawning his special pair of sneakers on Saturday when his Warriors take on the Houston Rockets. The Dubs have lost four out of their last five games, and Saturday's tilt against the lowly Rockets is pretty much a must-win for them.
Golden State did manage a huge victory over the mighty Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday (sans Giannis Antetokounmpo), but they lost out to the Washington Wizards on Friday. Curry and Co. enter Saturday's bout three games outside the playoffs picture out West. A postseason berth is still well within the reach of the struggling Warriors, but they have to start stringing a few wins together now if they want to keep their hopes alive.