CHICAGO (WLS) — A new piece of history is coming to life in the sport of golf.
Northwestern University credits Horace Morgan McDougal with being the first Black intercollegiate golfer.
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McDougal’s family says they only recently discovered how their grandfather broke the color barrier in golf, setting the stage for greats like Tiger Woods to follow in his path.
“He has a very determined look on his face,” said McDougal’s grandchild, Sylvia Ruffin, while looking at a photo of her grandfather, who is the only Black person in the group.
Before Tiger Woods, there was Horace Morgan McDougal.
“Uncovering the layer after layer after layer, like, this was a really remarkable man,” said Jill McDougal Wilson, another grandchild of McDougal’s. “He was the first Black intercollegiate golfer… ever.”
It was only a recent discovery first cousins Laini, Sherrie, Sylvia, and Jill had of their grandfather, an Auburn Gresham native who played on the Northwestern golf team in 1923.
It was buried history, until one book. Chief Operating Officer of Northwestern Athletics Patrick Goss said after he made the discovery, he spent years trying to find McDougal’s family.
“It really was just an afterthought in the book. It was one line, but he had sent it to me, and it really caught my eye, and I dove in with the archivist at Northwestern,” Goss said. “The more I learned about him, just, the story needed to be told.”
His research found McDougal’s impact started young, as one of the first Black players to represent a high school in Chicago. He was a World War veteran who earned a Purple Heart, and then the founder of the Windy City Golf Foundation, which was created to give more opportunities to Black people in the sport. But Goss says more work still needs to be done.
“Even with the effect of Tiger Woods, that there are still not enough opportunities,” Goss said.
The NCAA published 2025 data which shows that less than 2% of current collegiate student athlete golfers are Black. The numbers are even fewer at a professional level. With 30,000 PGA golfers last year, only 150 were Black.
“He persevered. It’s remarkable. Yes, he was a pioneer,” Jill said.
Sixty-eight years after McDougal’s passing, he was inducted into the Illinois Hall of Fame. For these cousins, it was the ultimate reminder of why Black families should talk about their heritage.
“There are other families that have to also have this something buried that they haven’t uncovered,” Jill said.
“Without knowing the barriers that he overcame. We have… overcome our own,” Sylvia said.
It is also proof of the impact one person can have.
“We are from greatness,” Jill said.
The McDougal grandchildren said they now spend time talking about their history with their own children so that no greatness is buried again.
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