Viewers of the Waste Management Open on Friday might have spied Cameron Champ’s footwear and wondered if the young star, already a winner on tour this season, was on the wrong end of a practical joke. The 23-year-old Champ had a black shoe on his right foot, and a white shoe on his left foot, which seemed like a rare faux pas for someone who has adapted so seamlessly to the PGA Tour.
In fact, this was another deft touch.
As Champ noted, the shoes were a tribute to his diverse heritage. He is the son of bi-racial parents, with a black grandfather, Mack, who has spoken candidly about the racism he endured growing up in the South.
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“You weren’t allowed,” Mack Champ told Golf Channel’s Tim Rosaforte about trying to enter a restaurant in College Station, Texas through the front door. “You had to go through back doors.”
Said Champ on his Instagram post: “I’m very proud of who I am and where I come from.”