Remembering more notable golfers who passed in 2025

Jim Dent, popular Black PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions pro died of a stroke on May 2, 2025, at age 85. Dent was born and grew up in Augusta, Georgia. At age 15 he caddied in his first Masters, carrying Bob Rosburg’s bag in the 1956 tournament.

Dent, at 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, played football in high school and earned a football scholarship to Paine College, an HBCU in Augusta, but soon dropped out to pursue a golf career.

After moving to California and securing a wealthy Black sponsor, Dent played on a minor league circuit for a few years. In 1966 he turned pro and finally qualified for the PGA Tour by finishing 10th at Q-School in 1970 at Tucson Country Club.

The closest he came to winning on the PGA Tour was finishing second to Jack Nicklaus at the Walt Disney World Classic in 1972. Dent, who was nicknamed “Big Boy” because of his size and long drives, won two World Long Drive Championships in 1974 and 1975.

When he turned 50 in 1989 Dent signed to play on the PGA Tour Champions. He proceeded to win 12 tournaments and bagged over $9 million.

Fellow pro Al Geiberger (“Mr. 59”) joked after Dent shot 64 to win his first Champions event, “Jim Dent ought to be outlawed for how far he can hit the ball.” But his 12 wins showed he had plenty of skill to match his length.

Dent received several accolades throughout his career, including induction into the African American Golfers Hall of Fame, the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame in 1994, National Black Golf Hall of Fame, and Paine College Sports Hall of Fame.

In 2013 Dent was inducted into the Local Legends wing at the Augusta Museum of History. He is survived by his wife Willye Malveaux Dent and his seven children.

John Feinstein, bestselling sports author and commentator, died of natural causes on Mar. 25, 2025, at age 69. Feinstein grew up in New York City. Right after graduating from Duke University, he joined the Washington Post newspaper staff and was a full-time sports reporter there until 1991.

In broadcasting he was a commentator on ESPN, the Golf Channel and the Mad Dog Sports Radio channel on SiriusXM. Feinstein was a prolific writer, publishing 40 books in all, with the most popular being “Season on the Brink” (1986), which chronicled a full season with Bobby Knight’s Indiana Hoosiers basketball team.

He wrote 10 important golf books – five are listed below – every one worth reading. “A Good Walk Spoiled;” “Days and Nights on the PGA Tour;” “Tales From Q-School;” “The Majors;” “Caddie for Life: The Bruce Edwards Story;” “The Classic Palmer.” Feinstein is survived by his wife, Christine, daughters Brigid and Jayne, and son Danny.

Mike Hill, who played on both the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour (now the PGA Tour Champions) died on Aug. 4, 2025, at age 86. Mike was the younger brother of PGA Tour player Dave Hill.

Hill grew up in Jackson, Michigan and attended Arizona State University. He turned professional in 1967 and had three wins on the PGA Tour. When he turned 50 in 1989 Hill joined the PGA Tour Champions.

Making up for lost time it didn’t take Hill long to notch his first win in 1990. He went on to win a total of 18 senior tournaments, topping the money list in 1991. Hill is rather famous for winning with partner Lee Trevino six times in the Legends of Golf tournament.

Six-time LPGA winner Jo Ann Prentice passed away on May 18, 2025, at age 92. Prentice was born in Birmingham, Alabama and joined the LPGA Tour in 1957.

Her most notable victory came in 1974 when Prentice won the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner’s Circle event, now known as the Chevron Championship, before it became a major.

“Jo Ann was a fierce competitor, feisty and not afraid to share her opinion, but also one of the kindest, sweetest people … ever,” said LPGA star Jane Blalock.