Springfield golf legend Horton Smith has come under fire for promoting a Caucasian-only policy and barring Black golfers from the PGA of America.
Smith, a two-time Masters Champion, including the inaugural tournament, recently had his name removed by the PGA of America from its "Horton Smith Award" after a review of history revealing he defended the Caucasian-only membership clause when he served as PGA president in the 1950s.
He holds a record of six professional tournament wins before the age of 21. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1990.
The decision to remove Smith's name from the award came shortly after Wendell Haskins, the PGA of America's former director of diversity, had a critical comment about the Springfield native in mid-June in the African American Golfer's Digest.