The Masters is not just any golf tournament. For many Blacks, it's personal.

When Tiger Woods won the Masters for the first time in 1997 by a record-setting 12 strokes, it was both a phenomenal golf accomplishment and a social statement. Until 1975, when Lee Elder played in his first Masters, no Black golfer had ever competed in the tournament. Before then, the only Blacks you ever saw at the Masters were caddies who worked at the course full-time, providing valuable course knowledge to competitors trying to win the tournament.

After Woods' historic Masters victory, it solidified his position as an international superstar, and it was supposed to signal a new era. More Blacks would emerge on the PGA Tour. The golf boom would lure tons of minority kids to the golf course. Yet, nine years after Woods' initial Masters win, the PGA Tour is as white as it was when Woods turned pro. And when you turn on the television to watch the Masters this week, it will be difficult to find any Black caddies as well.

That's a shame, because even before Black players gained entry at Augusta, Black caddies were a part of Masters history. Jack Nicklaus won his first Masters with a Black caddie from Augusta, Willie Peterson. An indelible Masters memory occurred in 1995, when Ben Crenshaw broke down in tears after winning the Masters and was consoled by his Black caddie, Carl Jackson. A few days before, Crenshaw had buried his mentor and long-time swing coach, Harvey Penick, forcing Crenshaw to play the tournament in mourning. Throughout the week, Jackson helped Crenshaw control his emotions, and helped Jackson and Crenshaw win their second Masters together.

Black caddies were a staple at Augusta, because until 1983, the Masters did not allow non-Augusta caddies to work the tournament. However, when the Masters lifted the ban on non-Augusta caddies, players started to bring their regular tour caddies to Augusta, and Black caddies at the Masters began to disappear.

The lack of Black caddies at Augusta coincides with the lack of black caddies on the PGA Tour. Black caddies used to be fixtures at country clubs across America, learning the game as they worked, giving many of them an opportunity to become excellent players. Former Black PGA Tour players like Elder and Jim Dent were introduced to the game as caddies. However, many country clubs have done away with caddies, replacing them with golf carts, and eliminating another avenue for young Blacks looking to gain access to the golf course.

Only a handful of Black caddies work regularly on the PGA Tour these days, a sad fact, because the caddie business has become big business. How much a caddie makes depends on the agreement between caddie and player. However, a caddie generally earns anywhere from five to 10 percent of whatever his player earns. So when you read that a player won $900,000 for winning a particular tournament, his caddie is also smiling, knowing that he has earned as much as $90,000. Steve Williams, Woods' caddie, has become a wealthy man working for the world's best player.

No wonder more PGA Tour players are using close friends and family members as caddies. Might as well keep the money in the family.

So where does that leave Black caddies and players at this week's Masters? Almost all on the outside, looking in.

The greatness of Woods has not translated into more Blacks on the PGA Tour, at least not yet. Golf remains an expensive, time-consuming, difficult sport. Kids who want to play basketball simply find a hoop, a ball, and they're all set. Basketball and football teams remain part of most high school extra-curricular activities. However, most high schools do not have golf teams, particularly schools in urban areas. Country club memberships, greens fees, golf clubs, and private lessons can be expensive. When it comes to getting more blacks involved in golf, it remains more a matter of economics and than a matter of race.

Woods was fortunate to have two parents who were dedicated to exposing him to golf. And he was such a prodigy at an early age, some courses and teachers were more than happy to help him develop.

Woods has no doubt inspired more youngsters to try golf. A national program called the First Tee, supported by the PGA Tour, is building facilities across the country that cater to young players. Go to your local driving range or golf course, and it is not unusual to see Black foursomes, male and female, enjoying a round of golf.

Yet, it's clear that the next wave of Black talent on the PGA or LPGA Tour has yet to materialize. Andia Winslow will become only the fourth Black woman to compete in an LPGA. Winslow is a 24-year-old niece of former NFL football star Kellen Winslow, and she will join Althea Gibson, Rene Powell, and Laree Sugg as the only Black women to compete on the LPGA Tour.

Winslow, who graduated from Yale hopes to earn her full-time LPGA tour card in the near future. Yet, ask people who follow college golf and junior golf, and they have a difficult time identifying any male or female Black player who looks like a surefire future star. The jump from amateur golf to professional golf is difficult for any player, and many Blacks are at a disadvantage, lacking the financial sponsorships and backing enjoyed by some of their white counterparts.

In fact, the number of Black professional golfers is on the decline. From 1964 through 1986 five Black golfers on the PGA Tour combined to win 23 events - Pete Brown, Charlie Sifford, Calvin Peete, Dent, and Elder. But since then, Woods is the only Black golfer to win a tour event, and one wonders how long it will take for another Black golfer to win on the PGA Tour.

Now 32 years old, Woods has already won 12 major championships and 64 PGA events, and he has made more money than he will ever spend. The only career goal left for Woods to surpass Nicklaus' total of 18 professional majors, If Woods is fortunate enough to win 19 majors, don't be surprised if he loses interest in professional golf, and concentrates more on family and other pursuits.

Whenever Woods leaves professional golf, will he leave it more ethically diverse? Right now, it doesn't look that way. For those who love golf, this is a special time of year, time for the Masters, and time to see if Tiger can win his fifth green jacket. However, when you're watching those picturesque images of Augusta National, the very private golf course that allows the world inside just once a year, remember this. The game of golf still needs more diversity. And the presence of Woods, the world's best player, is no guarantee that golf will ever become a game that is more accessible to the masses.