Elite golf competitor (6)
I believe the answer is:
gentry
'elite' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'golf competitor' is the wordplay.
'golf' becomes 'g' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'competitor' becomes 'entry' (entry in a competition).
'g'+'entry'='GENTRY'
(Other definitions for gentry that I've seen before include "People of good social position" , "Persons of high birth" , "Folk, often upper class" , "They're next below the nobility in position and birth" , "People of high class" .)