Ben Crenshaw
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Ben Daniel Crenshaw (born January 11, 1952) is an American golfer. He was born in Austin, Texas. He attended the University of Texas and turned professional in 1973.
Crenshaw won his first event in his rookie season on the PGA Tour, and picked up a win more seasons than not from then on. In 1984 he won The Masters, one of golf's four major championships. In the mid-1980s he suffered from Graves' disease, a disease of the thyroid, but he continued to accumulate victories, finishing with nineteen on the PGA Tour, including a second Masters in 1995.
Crenshaw won several further professional events outside the PGA Tour, including individual and team titles in the World Cup of Golf in 1988.
Crenshaw is widely regarded as one of the best putters in golf history. His instructor growing up, Harvey Penick, taught Ben a smooth, effortless stroke on the greens, which allowed him to master even the speediest of greens -- including those at Augusta National Golf Club. In winning the Masters in 1995 (a victory that came a week after Penick's death), "Gentle Ben" did not record a single three-putt during the tournament.
In 1991, Ben Crenshaw was given the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor bestowed by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf.
He is now a noted golf course designer, working in partnership with Bill Coore.
His step-mother Roberta Crenshaw was an Austin-area philanthropist.
He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2002.
He is the 2006 Kappa Alpha Order Sportsman of the Year.
PGA Tour wins
- 1973 (1) San Antonio Texas Open
- 1976 (3) Bing Crosby National Pro-Am, Hawaiian Open, Ohio Kings Island Open
- 1977 (1) Colonial National Invitation
- 1979 (2) Phoenix Open, Walt Disney World National Team Championship (with George Burns)
- 1980 (1) Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic
- 1983 (1) Byron Nelson Golf Classic
- 1984 (1) The Masters
- 1986 (2) Buick Open, Vantage Championship
- 1987 (1) USF&G Classic
- 1988 (1) Doral-Ryder Open
- 1990 (1) Southwestern Bell Colonial
- 1992 (1) Centel Western Open
- 1993 (1) Nestle Invitational
- 1994 (1) Freeport-McMoRan Classic
- 1995 (1) The Masters
Other wins
- 1972 NCAA Championship (Amateur - individual title (tie))
- 1976 Irish Open (European Tour)
- 1981 Mexican Open
- 1985 Shootout at Jeremy Ranch (with Miller Barber)
- 1988 World Cup (individual title and team title with Mark McCumber)
- 1995 PGA Grand Slam of Golf
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | DNP | DNP | T19 LA | T24 LA | T22 | T30 | 2 | T8 | T37 | CUT
|
| U.S. Open | T36 LA | T27 | CUT | CUT | DNP | T3 | T8 | T49 | CUT | T11
|
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | T28 | DNP | DNP | T5 | T2 | T2
|
| PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | T63 | T10 | T8 | DNP | T16 | 2
|
| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | T6 | T8 | T24 | T2 | 1 | T57 | T16 | T4 | 4 | T3
|
| U.S. Open | T32 | T11 | T19 | CUT | CUT | CUT | T6 | T4 | T12 | CUT
|
| The Open Championship | 3 | T8 | T15 | CUT | T22 | T35 | T21 | T4 | T16 | T52
|
| PGA Championship | T41 | CUT | CUT | T9 | CUT | T59 | T11 | T7 | T17 | T17
|
| Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | T14 | T3 | 46 | CUT | T18 | 1 | CUT | 45 | CUT | CUT
|
| U.S. Open | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | T33 | T71 | CUT | T65 | CUT | CUT
|
| The Open Championship | T31 | T80 | DNP | CUT | T77 | T15 | T26 | DNP | CUT | DNP
|
| PGA Championship | T31 | WD | T73 | T61 | T9 | T44 | T69 | CUT | CUT | CUT
|
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | 47
|
| U.S. Open | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP
|
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
|
| PGA Championship | WD | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
|
LA = Low Amateur
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10
External links
- [Profile on the PGA TOUR official site]
- [Golf Stars Online] - links to profiles and features
- [Ben Crenshaw Golflegeds.org]
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