Sewsunker "Papwa" Sewgolum (1930 – 1978)
Golfer. Born in South Africa, Sewsunker Sewgolum was of Indian heritage. He taught himself to play golf using branches of trees from the beach that looked like golf clubs. Sewsunker became a caddy to earn money to help the family. But this was short lived as a German golfer named GrahamWulfe became impressed with the prowess of the young Sewsunker as he demonstrated to Wulfe how to use a seven iron properly. Wulfe took Sewsunker to the Netherlands to compete in the 1959 Dutch Open where he won it and won it again the following year then again in 1964. It was in 1963 that Sewsunker won the South African Natal Open beating Harold Henning, a world class golfer. This was particularly significant because Sewsunker was the first non white to win a professional golf tournament in South Africa in the days of apartheid. 1965 proved to be the pinnacle of Sewsunker's professional career when he beat Gary Player in the Natal Open. However this amazing feat was overshadowed by the trophy awarding incident in which Sewsunker received it in pelting rain outside while all the white golfers stayed inside watching the trophy ceremony. Apartheid laws in those days did not permit Indian participants inside the Durban Country Club for fear the club would lose its liquor license. In 1966, the South Africa government prohibited Sewsunker from all future local tournaments and took away his passport thus preventing him from competing outside of the country. This in, effect, stopped Sewsunker from making a living as a golf professional. Sewsunker "Papwa" Sewgolum died impoverished in 1978 from a heart attack at the age of 48. In 2004, Papwa was posthumously awarded South Africa's highest honor for "excellence in sports." A golf course in Durban is named the Papwa Sewgolum Municipal Golf Course in his memory. In 2005, the Durban Country Club unveiled a memorial plaque in Papwa's honor and the chairman made a formal apology to Papwa's wife Suminthra and son, Rajen for the embarrassing trophy award incident in 1965 (Bio: Asterixfan)
Golfer. Born in South Africa, Sewsunker Sewgolum was of Indian heritage. He taught himself to play golf using branches of trees from the beach that looked like golf clubs. Sewsunker became a caddy to earn money to help the family. But this was short lived as a German golfer named GrahamWulfe became impressed with the prowess of the young Sewsunker as he demonstrated to Wulfe how to use a seven iron properly. Wulfe took Sewsunker to the Netherlands to compete in the 1959 Dutch Open where he won it and won it again the following year then again in 1964. It was in 1963 that Sewsunker won the South African Natal Open beating Harold Henning, a world class golfer. This was particularly significant because Sewsunker was the first non white to win a professional golf tournament in South Africa in the days of apartheid. 1965 proved to be the pinnacle of Sewsunker's professional career when he beat Gary Player in the Natal Open. However this amazing feat was overshadowed by the trophy awarding incident in which Sewsunker received it in pelting rain outside while all the white golfers stayed inside watching the trophy ceremony. Apartheid laws in those days did not permit Indian participants inside the Durban Country Club for fear the club would lose its liquor license. In 1966, the South Africa government prohibited Sewsunker from all future local tournaments and took away his passport thus preventing him from competing outside of the country. This in, effect, stopped Sewsunker from making a living as a golf professional. Sewsunker "Papwa" Sewgolum died impoverished in 1978 from a heart attack at the age of 48. In 2004, Papwa was posthumously awarded South Africa's highest honor for "excellence in sports." A golf course in Durban is named the Papwa Sewgolum Municipal Golf Course in his memory. In 2005, the Durban Country Club unveiled a memorial plaque in Papwa's honor and the chairman made a formal apology to Papwa's wife Suminthra and son, Rajen for the embarrassing trophy award incident in 1965 (Bio: Asterixfan)
Sewsunker "Papwa" Sewgolum (1930 – 1978)
Golfer. Born in South Africa, Sewsunker Sewgolum was of Indian heritage. He taught himself to play golf using branches of trees from the beach that looked like golf clubs. Sewsunker became a caddy to earn money to help the family. But this was short lived as a German golfer named GrahamWulfe became impressed with the prowess of the young Sewsunker as he demonstrated to Wulfe how to use a seven iron properly. Wulfe took Sewsunker to the Netherlands to compete in the 1959 Dutch Open where he won it and won it again the following year then again in 1964. It was in 1963 that Sewsunker won the South African Natal Open beating Harold Henning, a world class golfer. This was particularly significant because Sewsunker was the first non white to win a professional golf tournament in South Africa in the days of apartheid. 1965 proved to be the pinnacle of Sewsunker's professional career when he beat Gary Player in the Natal Open. However this amazing feat was overshadowed by the trophy awarding incident in which Sewsunker received it in pelting rain outside while all the white golfers stayed inside watching the trophy ceremony. Apartheid laws in those days did not permit Indian participants inside the Durban Country Club for fear the club would lose its liquor license. In 1966, the South Africa government prohibited Sewsunker from all future local tournaments and took away his passport thus preventing him from competing outside of the country. This in, effect, stopped Sewsunker from making a living as a golf professional. Sewsunker "Papwa" Sewgolum died impoverished in 1978 from a heart attack at the age of 48. In 2004, Papwa was posthumously awarded South Africa's highest honor for "excellence in sports." A golf course in Durban is named the Papwa Sewgolum Municipal Golf Course in his memory. In 2005, the Durban Country Club unveiled a memorial plaque in Papwa's honor and the chairman made a formal apology to Papwa's wife Suminthra and son, Rajen for the embarrassing trophy award incident in 1965 (Bio: Asterixfan)
Golfer. Born in South Africa, Sewsunker Sewgolum was of Indian heritage. He taught himself to play golf using branches of trees from the beach that looked like golf clubs. Sewsunker became a caddy to earn money to help the family. But this was short lived as a German golfer named GrahamWulfe became impressed with the prowess of the young Sewsunker as he demonstrated to Wulfe how to use a seven iron properly. Wulfe took Sewsunker to the Netherlands to compete in the 1959 Dutch Open where he won it and won it again the following year then again in 1964. It was in 1963 that Sewsunker won the South African Natal Open beating Harold Henning, a world class golfer. This was particularly significant because Sewsunker was the first non white to win a professional golf tournament in South Africa in the days of apartheid. 1965 proved to be the pinnacle of Sewsunker's professional career when he beat Gary Player in the Natal Open. However this amazing feat was overshadowed by the trophy awarding incident in which Sewsunker received it in pelting rain outside while all the white golfers stayed inside watching the trophy ceremony. Apartheid laws in those days did not permit Indian participants inside the Durban Country Club for fear the club would lose its liquor license. In 1966, the South Africa government prohibited Sewsunker from all future local tournaments and took away his passport thus preventing him from competing outside of the country. This in, effect, stopped Sewsunker from making a living as a golf professional. Sewsunker "Papwa" Sewgolum died impoverished in 1978 from a heart attack at the age of 48. In 2004, Papwa was posthumously awarded South Africa's highest honor for "excellence in sports." A golf course in Durban is named the Papwa Sewgolum Municipal Golf Course in his memory. In 2005, the Durban Country Club unveiled a memorial plaque in Papwa's honor and the chairman made a formal apology to Papwa's wife Suminthra and son, Rajen for the embarrassing trophy award incident in 1965 (Bio: Asterixfan)
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
