Grand Blanc, 2006
2026 Greater Flint African American Sports Hall of Fame Inductee
Category: Golf
Willie Mack III was one of the many young kids who watched Tiger Woods become the first African American to win The Masters and were inspired to participate in the great game of golf. Along with inspiration and help from his father, Mack began participating in numerous youth golf matches and tournaments in Flint and around the country. Like many young African American golfers at that time, Mack dealt with racism and prejudice during his years playing junior golf, but was able to deal with it, keep his head straight and keep moving forward playing the sport he loved.
In 2003, Mack won the Flint Junior Golf Association Championship and went on to win many more tournaments while playing for Flint Central’s golf team as a freshman and sophomore. In 2004, during Mack’s first year at Grand Blanc High School, he helped lead the Bobcats to a state championship. He was also featured in Sports Illustrated after winning the American Junior Golf Association’s Buick Junior Golf Tournament in 2006.
After high school, Mack received a scholarship to play golf for Bethune-Cookman and its legendary coach, Dr. Gary Freeman. While at Bethune-Cookman, he won 12 tournaments as well as numerous top 10 finishes. Mack helped Bethune-Cookman secure a second-place finish at the 23rd PGA Monterey Collegiate Golf Championship and achieved a runner-up finish at the same event the following year. He also won the SSU Tiger Fall Invite tournament in his sophomore season and Genesee All-Star Golf Classic in 2010.
In 2011, Mack became the first African American golfer to win the Michigan Amateur golf tournament. This achievement helped cement his legacy as one of the greatest golfers to come out of the Flint area. Mack’s professional career includes over 90 tournament wins in various golf tours around the country, such as the APGA Tour Championship. In 2019, he was named Lexus Cup Player of the Year by the Advocates Professional Golf Association, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to increase diversity in golf. Mack made his PGA Tour debut at the 2021 Farmers Insurance Open, and a month later was named the recipient of the Charlie Sifford Memorial exemption from Tiger Woods to compete in The Genesis Invitational.
In 2024, Mack fulfilled one of his career dreams when he qualified for the 124th U.S. Open, becoming the first Bethune-Cookman golfer to participate in the prestigious event.
Willie Mack III, you are the true definition of being “Flint Strong”! You have made Flint proud, welcome to the GFAASHOF!
