Jim Dent lived in the Tampa area for years, but he grew up in the caddie yards of Augusta, Georgia, eventually working at the Masters at Augusta National and honing his game at the municipal course a few miles away known as “The Patch.”
A trailblazer for African American golfers, he went on to become one of the PGA Tour's longest hitters and one of the top Black golfers of his generation.
Dent died on Friday at age 85, a week before his birthday, his grandson posted on Facebook. The PGA Tour said on its website that Dent suffered a stroke the day after Augusta National announced plans for Tiger Woods to design a par-3 course at The Patch.
“What I learned about playing golf has probably kept me all through life,” Dent told the USGA for a story in 2012. “You had to be honest. You had to work at it. You just couldn't pick up today and not come back 'til next week. And if you broke a rule, you had to turn yourself in.”
Dent worked hard enough on his game that he entered a few United Golfers Association tournaments, a league devoted to Black players, moved to California and took lessons from former U.S. Open champion Johnny Goodman.
He finally earned his PGA Tour card through qualifying school in 1970, and along with Lee Elder, Charlie Sifford and Pete Brown served as pioneers in an era when Black players were denied access to most courses.
While he never won on tour, Dent kept a full schedule of at least 22 tournaments for the next 16 years. His best result was in the 1972 Walt Disney World Open Invitational, when he trailed Jack Nicklaus by two shots going into the final round. Nicklaus shot 64 and won by nine.
Dent won the Michelob-Chattanooga Gold Cup Classic in 1983, a Tournament Players Series event for players who were not fully exempt — the tour had gone to the all-exempt tour that year instead of the majority of the field going through Monday qualifying.
Dent never met any of the qualifying criteria to play in the Masters, but he made the cut in eight of the 11 majors he played — six at the PGA Championship, five at the U.S. Open.
He was best known for his prodigious length, and Dent won the inaugural World Long Drive Championship in 1974.
After turning 50, he won 12 times on the PGA Tour Champions. Al Geiberger said after Dent shot 64 to win his first Champions event, “Jim Dent ought to be outlawed (for) the way he can hit the ball.”
“A lot of people will remember Jim Dent for how far he hit the ball, and he really did," said Miller Brady, president of the PGA Tour Champions. “Yet his long-term success, especially on our tour, proved Jim was more than just long off the tee.”
The fourth of six children, Dent lost both parents by the time he was 12 and was raised by his aunt, Mary Benton. She was opposed to him caddying at The Patch and told him, “If you learn how to caddie, you're going to learn how to gamble.”
“Kids think they’re the smartest people in the world,” Dent said in the USGA story. “Second thing I learned how to do when I learned how to caddie was shoot dice and play cards. She was dead right.”
Dent attended Paine College in Augusta in 1959 on a football scholarship, but left to pursue golf.
He worked at Augusta Country Club, and Dent recalled how caddies could play if they were willing to cut crabgrass out of the greens. He caddied at the Masters for the first time at age 15.
During that time, he said he learned from some of the sport's best, including Byron Nelson, Sam Snead and Ben Hogan.
Augusta named the road leading into The Patch as “Jim Dent Way” in 2020 as a tribute. Two years later, Dent was inducted into the Caddie Hall of Fame.
After turning pro, Dent moved to the Tampa area and became a familiar face at Rogers Park, the city's first golf course for African Americans. He mentored many young golfers and served on the board of First Tee of Tampa Bay, a golf program for underserved youths.
Three weeks before his death, Dent took part in the 50th anniversary celebration of Elder becoming the first Black golfer to play in the Masters.
He also learned Augusta National was pouring support into upgrading the municipal course under the work of architects Tom Fazio and Beau Welling. It will include a longer, conditioned course with a new short-game area and clubhouse.
Woods is designing a par-3 course called the “Loop at The Patch” to honor Augusta National caddies who played there.
Dent is survived by his wife, Willye Malveaux; five adopted children, twins Joseph and Joshua; Victoria; and Jamie; and two children from a previous marriage, Radiah and Jim Jr.
Jim Jr. is the head pro at The Patch. Years ago, he served as program director at First Tee of Tampa Bay at Rogers Park. As a teen, he played at Lakewood High School.
Joseph, an alumni of First Tee at Tampa Bay and graduate of Strawberry Crest High School, is pursuing a pro golf career.
And one of Dent's grandsons, Andre Lacy II, is the golf coach at Paine College.
WUSF's Rick Mayer contributed to this report.
