Esteemed golf writer Ronald Green passed away on Sept. 18 in Charlotte after a brief illness, his son, Ron Jr., announced on Facebook. Green, who was 95, was a long-time sports columnist for the Charlotte News and the Charlotte Observer, writing about some of the most memorable events and people in the region for more than 50 years.
Longtime sports writer and columnist Mark Whicker called Green “quiet, thoughtful, charitable, dignified, optimistic and grateful. Despite all that, he was also a sports columnist. He was the kind of columnist who takes the edge off your mornings, the kind who realizes that there’s a historical precedent for almost everything, yet never fails to appreciate the modern athlete.”
Born in Greenville, S.C., Green began working full-time for the afternoon paper when he graduated high school in 1948. He covered more than 80 golf major championships including 60 consecutive Masters tournaments. He noted to colleague Scott Fowler that he had spent more than a year of his life at Augusta National. Green also covered 25 Super Bowls, four Olympic Games, 26 Final Fours, tennis’s U.S. Open, heavyweight title bouts and countless college and professional football and basketball games.
“I loved newspapers,” Green once said. “I still remember the first day I walked into a newspaper office — how it smelled. The ink and the paper. Still remember it. Never got over it. I loved being a newspaperman. I loved the rush, and the crush, of a deadline. And I just never got over feeling good when I saw my byline in the paper.”
He is a member of the North Carolina Journalism Hall of Fame, the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, the United States Basketball Writers Hall of Fame and the Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame.
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In 2006, Green received the PGA of America Lifetime Achievement in Journalism award and in 2010 he was honored by Jack Nicklaus with the Memorial Tournament journalism award. The Charlotte City Amateur golf championship trophy is named for him as well.
Green is the author of four books: From Tobacco Road to Amen Corner: On Sports and Life (1990); Shouting at Amen Corner (1999); Slow Dancing with Bobby Jones (2004) and a History of Charlotte Country Club (2005).
“I was born with a talent that can’t be taught and that’s just a blessing that fell to me. Plus, I loved my job,” Green said. “From the day I walked into the News and asked for a job until the day I retired, I was in my personal heaven. I got the best seats, got to talk to the players and coaches, got to write about, saw it published in the paper and I got paid for it.
“If that isn’t heaven for a guy from an old mill hill, what is?”
A private funeral service will be held.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The First Tee of Greater Charlotte.