James Lacey Dent (born May 9, 1939) is an American professional

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

er. Dent was born in the golf mecca of

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...

, home of the

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...

, though as an African American he wouldn't have been allowed onto the

Augusta National Augusta National Golf Club, sometimes referred to as Augusta or the National, is a golf club in Augusta, Georgia, United States. Unlike most private clubs which operate as non-profits, Augusta National is a for-profit corporation, and it does no ...

course at the time, except as a

caddie In golf, a caddie (or caddy) is the person who carries a player's bag and clubs, and gives the player advice and moral support. Description A good caddie is aware of the challenges and obstacles of the golf course being played, along with the ...

. He caddied both at Augusta National and at Augusta Country Club as a youth. Dent attended Augusta's historically black

Paine College Paine College is a private, historically black Methodist college in Augusta, Georgia. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. Paine College offers undergraduate degrees in the liberal arts, ...

. Dent turned pro in 1966. During his regular (under 50) career he was Florida PGA Champion three times. However he is mainly notable for his success on the

Senior PGA Tour PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many years ...

(now Champions Tour), where he won 12 tournaments between 1989 and 1998. Known for his driving ability, Dent was in 1974 the inaugural winner of the

World Long Drive Championship The World Long Drive Championship is an annual long drive competition in the sport of golf. It was first held in 1974, and since 2000 has comprised Open, Masters (over-45s) and Women's events. From 1995 to 2013, the events were sanctioned by the ...

and would go on to retain the title in 1975.

Professional wins (16)

Tournament Players Series wins (1)

Other wins (3)

*1976 Florida PGA Championship *1977 Florida PGA Championship *1978 Florida PGA Championship

Senior PGA Tour wins (12)

''*Note: The 1990 Kroger Senior Classic was shortened to 36 holes due to rain.'' Senior PGA Tour playoff record (2–2)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dent, Jim American male golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers African-American golfers Golfers from Augusta, Georgia Paine College alumni 1939 births Living people 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople

Professional wins (16)

Tournament Players Series wins (1)

Other wins (3)

Senior PGA Tour wins (12)

See also

External links