By Mathieu Wood
Few people can say they are an inspiration to others, but Danny List can. To children in Ghana, where he was raised, he is their idol, just like Tiger Woods was to him.
Born in Macon, Georgia, to an Australian father and Ghanian mother, List grew up in Accra, the capital of the west African country.
After being gifted a set of plastic golf clubs as a toddler, he instantly took a liking to the sport.
“I played with them around the house, and I just really enjoyed it,” recalled List. “Pretty much immediately, hitting a golf ball was all I wanted to do.”
But at the time there was little or no interest in golf in Ghana, where football was the focus of attention.
Growing up, his local club, Achimota Golf Club, did not have a driving range, the fairways were more scrub than grass, and initially had sand greens.
“It wasn’t the best for learning how to play golf,” he said.
Forging a career in the game didn’t seem realistic. Yet that is exactly what he has been able to do, something that has not gone unnoticed.
Awarded the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption into last month’s Genesis Invitational, given to a person who represents the advancement of the diversity in golf, List was thrust into wider consciousness by making his PGA TOUR debut in California.
And it was the Tiger Woods Foundation that the 26-year-old had to thank for his invite. Surreal, you could say.
“I got a call from Mr Mike Antolini, the tournament director,” recalled List of finding out.
“He told me Tiger had chosen me to play in his event. I’ve got goosebumps now just reliving that moment and hearing that.
“When it comes from the person I have idolised the most by far in my life and he has handpicked me to play in his tournament... It will be hard replicating that kind of feeling in the future.”
The experience was made even more meaningful for List, who is now based in San Diego, as it took place at Torrey Pines, a venue which has such significance for Woods.
“One of the earliest memories I have was of him making that putt to tie Rocco Mediate at the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in 2008,” he recalls of watching as a ten-year-old in Ghana.
List is speaking to the DP World Tour from South Africa ahead of this week’s Joburg Open at Houghton Golf Club where he is continuing his rookie season at this level since coming through all three stages of Qualifying School last year to earn his card.
With players from 41 different countries exempt on golf's global tour for the 2025 season, List is proud of where he has come from and views himself as a dual national while playing under the flag of Australia.
"I really wish I could have both flags [by his name]," he said. "I am immensely proud to be from both places. If I could represent both, I would."
While he is still to make a cut thus far, he did finish third on the HotelPlanner Tour at the MyGolfLife Open hosted by Pecanwood Estate last month and his impact off the course is undeniable.
Ahead of the final event of the International Swing, the second of five global swings on the DP World Tour schedule, List returned to Ghana – a journey he makes six or so times a year.
His relationship with Ghana took on a new significance a few years ago after he set up a foundation in his name, with the aim of raising the golfing profile of the country.
Growing up there were next to no other junior golfers for him to play with or against in his area, List sought to help change all that.
Launched in 2021, the non-profit Danny List Foundation – which he set up with his mother, Diala – runs youth programmes, encourages player development and does community outreach.
The talent is there, and List is helping to pave the way for young players to fulfil it.
“We have about 60 kids that we work with at the moment, at different levels,” he explained.
“Some are elite players, who we have been able to send overseas to compete.
“Our big goal is to have a player compete at the highest level, maybe get to the DP World Tour, which a lot of them aspire to.
“The medium goal is to help as many of these kids get a scholarship to the US to play college golf.
"Some are now being sent to England for the first time in quite some time so are getting the exposure to these elite levels and college scouts which is a huge step."
Our big goal is to have a player compete at the highest level, maybe get to the DP World Tour, which a lot of them aspire to.
It wasn’t until List went on a scholarship to Wellington School in England at 13 that his own golfing education truly took off.
While he was capable of beating adults in Ghana, he grew up both as a golfer and a person through that experience.
“The first year [at Wellington School] was a huge adjustment,” he said.
“I was begging to go home on several occasions. I was very close to doing so.
“I stuck it out though and grew to love it. I definitely wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for that.
“It played such a huge role in my development, being able to actually play on good courses and get proper coaching.”
List quickly improved and, at 14, he was the European champion as he rose through the junior ranks, before going on to spend one year at the University of Washington from 2016-2017.
From there, he opted to turn professional and played predominantly on the Canadian and Latin American Tours, while also making a debut appearance on the DP World Tour at the 2018 Nordea Masters in Sweden.
But, after sustaining a fracture in his lower back due to stress in his spine because of over rotation in his golf swing in early to mid-2023, things looked bleak for him.
Despite that, after more than a year without being able to swing a club, he won last year’s California State Open, before finishing as one of the top 21 players at the final stage of Qualifying School in Spain to claim his DP World Tour card.
“I exceeded my expectations and then some,” he reflected.
“I would never have imagined I would have got my card after what I went through. It was more likely that I wouldn’t be able to play golf again than to be able to come back and do what I have been fortunate enough to do.
“I was pretty doubtful that I would continue to play golf, but I stuck it out and to then go and get my DP World Tour card less than a year later… I couldn’t have even imagined it.”
It was during his time out of the game that List took solace from his foundation and giving lessons to young children in Ghana.
“Throughout the whole time, I was thinking should I do something else,” he said.
“Obviously, I had the foundation so that was where my focus went to throughout that period.
“Otherwise, I think I might have gone insane to be honest.”
But through times of adversity, List has remained resolute, and it is in part for that reason his exemption into the Genesis Invitational last month meant so much, not only to him but his family.
“After hearing the news, I called my mum straight away and she was just over the moon,” he said.
“She couldn’t have been more excited. She couldn’t miss it, so she came over from Ghana to watch me play. It was such a great experience.
“We went to have lunch with Tiger. When he came over, my mum was so excited.
“She couldn’t help herself; she had to get herself in a picture. She was going to be invited for one, but she invited herself into this one.
“People used to say I looked a lot like him when I was a kid, so it gave me a tonne of added motivation to see someone who looks like you.
"I respect so much what he has achieved.
“Any adversity I face is not as big a deal as people might make it seem like. I am unbelievably blessed to play golf for a living.
"Whatever direction life takes me, I will be equally happy for whatever that is. All I can do is try my best and see where that goes."
While List may not match the achievements of his hero on the course, his story of giving back to the golf community in Ghana is one that he hopes will have a lasting impact.
