Ben Daniel Crenshaw (born January 11, 1952) is a retired American professional golfer who has won 19 events on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

, including two major championships: the

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply the Masters, or as the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four men's major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week in April, the Masters is the ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

. He is nicknamed '' Gentle Ben''.

Early life and amateur career

Born and raised in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, Crenshaw played golf at Austin High School and the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

, where he won three NCAA Championships from 1971 to 1973. Crenshaw was also a member of the Kappa Alpha Order

fraternity A fraternity (; whence, "wikt:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular ...

Professional career

In 1973, Crenshaw turned professional at the age of 21. He played his first PGA Tour event as a pro in mid-August at the USI Classic in

Sutton, Massachusetts Sutton, officially the Town of Sutton, is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 9,357 in the 2020 United States census. Located in the Blackstone Valley, the town was design ...

. Crenshaw finished ten strokes back in a tie for 35th place ( $903). Less than three months later in early November, Crenshaw became the second player to win the first event after earning his tour card, achieved earlier by Marty Fleckman (

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

). Crenshaw remains one of a handful of golfers who has completed this feat. Together with his teammate George Burns, he won the Walt Disney World National Team Championship in Orlando in October

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

. Following five runner-up finishes in major championships without a victory, including a sudden-death playoff at the 1979 PGA Championship, Crenshaw won the

. In the mid-1980s, he suffered from

Graves' disease Graves' disease, also known as toxic diffuse goiter or Basedow's disease, is an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid. It frequently results in and is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism. It also often results in an enlarged thyro ...

, a condition of the

thyroid The thyroid, or thyroid gland, is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans, it is a butterfly-shaped gland located in the neck below the Adam's apple. It consists of two connected lobes. The lower two thirds of the lobes are connected by ...

, but continued to accumulate victories; he finished with nineteen PGA Tour wins, including an emotional second Masters victory in

, which came a week after the death of his mentor Harvey Penick. In

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, Crenshaw was the captain of the United States

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...

team for the matches at The Country Club in

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline () is an affluent town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. An exclave of Norfolk County, Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton ...

, a

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

suburb. He was criticized from some quarters for his captaincy over the first two days as his team slipped to a 10–6 deficit; however, he was ultimately credited for providing the inspiration behind his side's remarkable turnaround in the Sunday singles, as the U.S. won 8 of the final day's twelve points to regain the Cup. Crenshaw won several professional events outside the PGA Tour, including individual and team titles in the World Cup of Golf in 1988. He was among the top ten on McCormack's World Golf Rankings from 1976 to 1981 inclusive, and returned to spend 80 weeks in the top-10 of the

Official World Golf Ranking The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolling ...

from 1987 to 1989. In 1987, he became one of the few players in history to finish in the top ten of all four major championships in the same season without winning any of them. Despite playing mainly in the United States, Crenshaw had a number of top performances in international events in his career. He won the 1976 Irish Open and then finished runner-up to compatriot Hubert Green the next year. He also finished runner-up at two events on the Australasian Tour, at the 1978

Australian Open The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...

and the 1982

Australian PGA Championship The Australian PGA Championship is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia. It is the home tournament of the Australian PGA. Since 2000 it has been held in the South East Queensland region. The tournament was part of the OneAsia Tour fro ...

. And he famously had two runner-ups at

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

, behind

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (; born January 21, 1940), nicknamed "the Golden Bear", is an American retired professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greate ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

and Seve Ballesteros the following year. Crenshaw is widely regarded as one of the best putters in golf history. His instructor growing up, Harvey Penick, taught him a smooth, effortless stroke on the greens, which allowed him to master even the speediest of greens–including those at

Augusta National Golf Club Augusta National Golf Club, sometimes referred to as Augusta National, Augusta, or the National, is a golf club in Augusta, Georgia, United States. It is known for hosting the annual Masters Tournament. Founded by Bobby Jones and Clifford Rob ...

. In winning the Masters in 1995, "Gentle Ben" did not record a single three-putt during the tournament. Since 1986, Crenshaw has been a legal partner with Bill Coore in Coore & Crenshaw, a golf course design firm. The Masters in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

was the 44th and final for Crenshaw. Crenshaw has the worst playoff record in

history at 0–8.

Personal life

Crenshaw married his second wife Julie in 1985. All three of his daughters – Claire Susan, Anna Riley, and Katherine Vail – were presented to

high society High society, sometimes simply Society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth, power, fame and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open ...

as debutantes at the

International Debutante Ball The International Debutante Ball is an invitation-only, Formal wear, formal Debutante, debutante ball, to officially present well-connected young women from Upper class, upper-class families to high society. Founded in 1954, it occurs every two ...

at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Crenshaw is a Republican and has donated money to multiple Republican candidates.

Amateur wins

*1968 International Jaycee Junior Golf Tournament *1971 NCAA Championship, Eastern Amateur, Southern Amateur *1972 NCAA Championship (tie with

Tom Kite Thomas Oliver Kite Jr. (born December 9, 1949) is an American professional golfer and golf course architect. He won the U.S. Open in 1992 and spent 175 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking between 1989 and 1994. Early life a ...

), Eastern Amateur, Porter Cup, Trans-Mississippi Amateur *1973 NCAA Championship, Western Amateur, Sunnehanna Amateur, Southern Amateur, Northeast Amateur

Professional wins (30)

PGA Tour wins (19)

''*Note: Tournament shortened to 54 holes due to rain.'' PGA Tour playoff record (0–8) Source:

European Tour wins (3)

European Tour playoff record (0–1)

Other wins (9)

*1975 Texas State Open *1979 Texas State Open *1980 Texas State Open *1981 Mexican Open *1985

Shootout at Jeremy Ranch The Uniting Fore Care Classic was a golf tournament on the Champions Tour from 1982 to 2002. It was played in Park City, Utah, at the Jeremy Ranch Golf Club (1982–1992) and the Park Meadows Golf Club (1993–2002). It was played at stroke play ea ...

(with Miller Barber) *1988

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

(team title with Mark McCumber), World Cup Individual Trophy *1991 Fred Meyer Challenge (with Paul Azinger) *1995 PGA Grand Slam of Golf

Senior wins (1)

*2009 Wendy's Champions Skins Game (with

Fuzzy Zoeller Frank Urban "Fuzzy" Zoeller Jr. (; born November 11, 1951) is an American professional golfer who has won ten PGA Tour events including two major championships. He is one of three golfers to have won the Masters Tournament in his first appea ...

)

Major championships

Wins (2)

Results timeline

LA = Low amateur
CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 13 (twice) *Longest streak of top-10s – 6 (1975 U.S. Open – 1977 Masters)

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Notable

*He played on four

teams (1981, 1983, 1987, 1995) and captained the 1999 team. *In 1987, he became one of the few players in history to record top-10 finishes in all four major championships in the same season. Ed Dudley,

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Since embarking on a professional career in ...

Gary Player Gary James Player (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tour and nine ...

, Doug Sanders, Miller Barber,

Hale Irwin Hale S. Irwin (born June 3, 1945) is an American professional golfer. He was one of the world's leading golfers from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. He is one of the few players in history to win three U.S. Opens, becoming the oldest ever U.S. ...

, Tom Watson,

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...

, Sergio García, Ernie Els,

Phil Mickelson Philip Alfred Mickelson (born June 16, 1970) is an American professional golfer who currently plays in the LIV Golf League. He has won 45 events on the PGA Tour, including six Men's major golf championships, major championships: three Masters ...

, Vijay Singh,

Rickie Fowler Rick Yutaka Fowler (born December 13, 1988) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He was the number one World Amateur Golf Ranking, ranked amateur golfer in the world for 36 weeks in 2007 and 2008. On January 24, 2016, he ...

, Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka,

Jon Rahm Jon Rahm Rodríguez (born 10 November 1994) is a Spanish professional golfer. He was number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for a then record 60 weeks and later became world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, first achiev ...

, and Rory McIlroy have also achieved the feat. *In 1991, Crenshaw was given the

Bob Jones Award The Bob Jones Award is the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. It is named in honor of Bobby Jones (golfer), Bobby Jones. Winners *1955 Francis Ouimet *1956 William C. C ...

, the highest honor bestowed by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. *His stepmother, Roberta Crenshaw, was an Austin-area philanthropist. *He is now a noted golf course designer, working in partnership with Bill Coore. *He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2002. *He is the 2006 Kappa Alpha Order Sportsman of the Year. *"If we are to preserve the integrity of golf as left to us by our forefathers, it is up to all of us to carry on the true spirit of the game."

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur *

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958 Eisenhower Trophy, 1958, it is nam ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

(winners) Professional *

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

(winners),

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

(winners),

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

(winners, non-playing captain) *

, 1988 (winners, individual winner) *

Kirin Cup The is an association football tournament organised in Japan by the Kirin Brewery Company. The host, Japan national football team, Japan, is a participant in every edition. The tournament was founded in 1978 then known as Japan Cup (Internatio ...

: 1988 (winners) * Dunhill Cup:

* Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (representing Senior PGA Tour): 2002

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crenshaw, Ben American male golfers Texas Longhorns men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Winners of men's major golf championships World Golf Hall of Fame inductees American golf course architects Golfers from Austin, Texas Austin High School (Austin, Texas) alumni 1952 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen