Golfer Bubba Watson says he will paint a U.S. flag over the contentious Confederate battle banner on his “General Lee” Dodge Charger from the hit 1980s TV show “The Dukes of Hazzard.”
Watson, a two-time Masters champion who is ranked third in the world, made the announcement on Thursday on Twitter.
“All men are created equal,” he wrote. “I believe that, so I will be painting the American flag over the roof of the General Lee #USA.”
“Dukes of Hazzard” ran from 1979 to 1985 on the CBS network in the United States and centered on the fictional Duke family, who lived in rural Georgia. An orange 1969 Dodge Charger bearing a Confederate flag design on the roof and nicknamed “General Lee” was regularly featured in the show.
Watson bought the car in 2012 for $110,000, saying he was a fan of the car and the TV show, but not the flag, Golf Digest reported.
There has been growing criticism of the flag from the 1861-65 U.S. Civil War after the shooting of nine black churchgoers in South Carolina last month.
The man arrested in the shooting, Dylann Roof, is a 21-year-old white man who had posed with a Confederate battle flag in photos posted on a website that displayed a racist manifesto attributed to him.
Viacom Inc’s satellite-TV channel TV Land said on Wednesday that it was no longer showing reruns of “The Dukes of Hazzard.”
Owners of 30 tracks that host NASCAR auto-racing events issued a joint statement on Thursday asking fans not to display the flag at their facilities.
Watson was playing the Greenbrier Classic in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia, on Friday, and was not available for comment.
Vegas, Langley share Greenbrier lead
Jhonattan Vegas and Scott Langley shared the second-round lead at the Greenbrier Classic on Friday in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, but attracting most of the attention was Tiger Woods’ bid to remain in contention.
Vegas and Langley, the first-round leader after opening with a 62, were tied at 9-under-par 131 on the par-70, 7,287-yard Old White TPC course. Vegas moved into a share of first place with a 65 in the second round.
A gaggle of golfers — Chad Collins, Bryce Molder, Danny Lee, Kevin Chappell, Greg Owen, David Hearn and Jonathan Byrd — were one shot behind at 8 under after 36 holes. Molder and Hearn turned in the low round among the seven with 64s.
They were among 23 players within three shots of the lead.
And then there was Woods, who is lurking in the middle of the pack at 5 under after and up-and-down round of 1-under 69.
Two straight birdies on the back nine helped Woods avoid missing back-to-back cuts for the first time during his professional career. He managed to weather three bogeys by making four birdies despite needing 32 putts and hitting just seven of 14 fairways.
Vegas birdied two of his final three holes, hit all 18 greens in regulation and finished a bogey-free round with five birdies in a bid for his first victory since his rookie season in 2011.
Langley held steady with a 69 that included consecutive birdies on the back nine.