There is an unknown name sitting in the Genesis Invitational player’s field. Who? It’s Chase Johnson! The golfer’s name is marked with a plus sign to indicate that he will be participating in the event in an exemption category. But it is not the same exemption as given out by the sponsors. It is a different one!

Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Gary Woodlands, and Will Zalatoris already filled the quota of sponsors exemptions. The one that has given Johnson a chance to compete at Riviera Golf Course is quite special and unusual! It is known as the Charlie Sifford Exemption and denotes a progressive step taken by golf decades ago

The first step towards diversification in golf

In 2009, the Genesis Invitational provided a platform for those golfers coming from a minority background. It was a way to encourage, diversify, and provide an equal opportunity to golfers based on their previous records in different leagues. The exemption did not have a name until 2017.

In that season, the Invitational gave it the name of Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption, honoring Charlie Sifford. He was the first African American to play and win on the PGA Tour after it removed the ‘Caucasian Only from North or South America’ policy in 1961. Notably, in 1967, Sifford won the Greater Hartford Open Invitational. With the victory, he became the only minority golfer to do so.

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After triumphing in the event, he added his name to the event’s winners list, which included Sam Sneads, Billy Casper, and Arnold Palmer. Two years later, Sifford also won the Los Angeles Open in 1969. To honor his legacy, the exemption had been given to many golfers in his name.

It has been disclosed that Woods was close to Sifford before he passed away in 2015. As the host, Woods has been giving away and choosing the participants over the last decade for the exemption. This year, it was Chase Johnson, who will be making his fifth start at the 2024 Genesis Invitational.

The former recipients of the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption

The players that received the exemption included many from other minorities as well. Like J.J. Spaun, who was a Filipino, Carloz Sainz Jr. was ethnically Spanish, and many others. Out of the fourteen golfers, only three could successfully pass the 36-hole cut: Jeremiah Wooding (2013, T42), Harold Varner III (2014, T70), and Joseph Bramlett (2020, T51). The full exemptions are given below:

Read More: Tiger Woods at Genesis Invitational: Stats Explored

Will Chase Johnson use the exemption for his benefit and become the fourth golfer in the last three years to contend for the Genesis Invitational? Stay tuned to find out!

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