Why Ghana-raised, Tiger Woods protege Danny List is going to be Australia’s next golf superstar
Born in the USA, raised in Africa, and now Australia’s latest PGA Tour player, ADAM PENGILLY charts Danny List’s rise from the Ghanaian capital of Accra to our next golf superstar. And he’s already caught the attention of Tiger Woods.
Of all the countries on earth capable of producing a professional golfer good enough to make it to the PGA Tour, one along the west African coast would have to be near the bottom of the list.
Ghana is known for its soccer players, its athletes, its basketballers, its boxers. But a golfer?
“Looking back on it, it seems a bit more unrealistic than it did to me back then,” laughs Danny List, Australia’s latest PGA Tour player.
List was born in the United States to an Australian father and Ghanaian mother, and spent the majority of his childhood growing up in Ghana’s coastal capital of Accra.
There was no driving range in the city, the scrub was thick on his local course and the greens? Well, they were usually sand.
“The greens were probably running about three or so on the stimpmeter,” List laughs of the instrument used to roll a ball to measure the speed of greens. “It definitely wasn’t conducive to excelling in the game of golf.
“It was probably a case of ignorance is bliss, me thinking I could do something in the game of golf coming from there.”
Sometimes, ignorance is bliss. He was the only kid from his area who bothered to keep pursuing a little white ball.
And List’s determination to make it to the top echelon against country club kids from the United States and teenagers showered with college scholarships across continental Europe has never wavered.
After time in the United Kingdom and also in Perth under the tutelage of Ritchie Smith – the coach to the stars like Minjee and Min Woo Lee, Hannah Green and Elvis Smylie – List had a choice about who he would represent as a professional. He chose Australia.
“A bit of my thinking on that was Australia has a great history in the game of golf, and I’m trying to (emerge) in the game of golf after all the people that have laid the groundwork before me, whether it be (Greg) Norman, Adam Scott, the list really goes on,” he says. “All of the support Golf Australia can provide, that’s where my thinking was.
“(But) I wish I could represent two countries at the same time: Australia and Ghana.”
List’s cosmopolitan upbringing caught the eye of someone very important: Tiger Woods.
Woods has an invitation he offers each year to play in his Genesis Invitational, this week being held at Torrey Pines because of the Los Angeles wildfires, for a young golfer who comes from a minority background and is trying to diversify the game of golf.
This year, the Charlie Sifford exemption has gone to List, who was hand picked by Woods and will tee off for the first time on the PGA Tour on Friday morning (AEDT).
Having got his big break after securing a 2025 DP World Tour card through Q-school, List was practising in San Diego when an unknown number flashed up on his phone.
“Anyone who knows me knows I’ve never picked those up,” List laughs. “For some reason, something told me I should probably answer this one.
“And fortunately I did. I was told that Tiger’s decided to give me the spot in the field. Just hearing the words like, ‘oh, Tiger’s chosen you to play’ was probably the pinch me moment.”
Like Woods, List also has his own foundation. He has about 40 golfers in Ghana he’s hoping to help.
They all know now the impossible dream of playing on the PGA Tour out of west Africa might not be so impossible after all.
More Coverage
LIV Golf boss driving for new deals
The Australian leg of LIV Golf in Adelaide has set the benchmark for the breakaway golf league, according to its new global CEO, who’s on the hunt for more corporate and media deals.
LIV Golf struggles worldwide. So why does Australia love it?
LIV Golf still struggles for relevance in the US. So why has it been such a hit in Australia when it has been such a slow burn in other parts of the world? ADAM PENGILLY investigates.