Ben There, Won That

Three decades ago, Ben Crenshaw towered over his amateur peers. By Rick Young

For many, Ben Crenshaw’s career consists of images from his 29-year professional career: Crenshaw being consoled by caddie Carl Jackson after winning the Masters in 1995; kissing the 17th green at The Country Club following the final-day blitz of Europe by the U.S. team at the 1999 Ryder Cup; accepting the 2001 Payne Stewart Award for conduct, presentation, sportsmanship and integrity.

With two Masters victories among his 19 PGA Tour wins, a Ryder Cup captaincy and the respect and admiration of his peers and fans worldwide, Crenshaw has earned a place among the game’s great professionals. Often overlooked, however, is the fact that three decades ago as an amateur “Gentle Ben” truly towered over his peers.

“He was the Tiger Woods of his era,” says former University of Texas teammate Brent Buckman. “I think Ben played the best golf of his life from age 16 to 24. He was long, incredibly tough, so gifted on the greens, and he seemed to shoot under par all the time.”

Starting in 1971, Crenshaw won three consecutive NCAA individual titles and received three straight Fred Haskins Awards as the nation’s outstanding collegian. He represented the U.S.A. at the 1972 World Amateur Team Championship and was a threat to win any tournament he entered, including PGA Tour events.

“I’m pretty happy with what I accomplished as an amateur,” Crenshaw drawls, “but there was a lot to live up to growing up in Texas. It was hard not to think about Jimmy Demaret, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan and Jackie Burke.  Every kid knew those fellas had set the bar pretty high.”

Crenshaw was enveloped by outstanding golf at an early age. His father, Charlie, brother Charlie and Austin Country Club members influenced his development. Mostly, though, the legendary Harvey Penick, who placed a cut-down mashie in Ben’s hands at the age of 6, molded the player. “When Ben was a boy I wouldn’t let him practice too much for fear he might find out how to do something wrong,” Penick wrote in his Little Red Book. “He was a natural-born golfer.”

Penick’s lessons served Crenshaw well. At 15, Crenshaw won the first of two Texas Junior titles. At 16, he qualified for the 1968 U.S. Junior Amateur in Brookline, Mass.

“The U.S. Junior transformed me that year,” he says of his first out-of-state championship. “Playing at The Country Club, there was not only the historical significance of Francis Ouimet beating [Harry] Vardon and [Ted] Ray for the 1913 Open there, but it was also my introduction to classic course architecture. I loved everything about that week. For me, it felt like a world of opportunity had opened up.”

College opportunities certainly had. Six prominent universities recruited him: Florida, Houston, Southern Methodist, Stanford, Wake Forest and his hometown university, Texas. The choice was easy: Crenshaw had known UT coach George Hannon for some time, felt comfortable with the campus and was excited about teaming with rival Tom Kite.

“I don’t say Ben had the prettiest or most fundamental swing in college, but no one I ever saw was better at putting the score down on the card,” says Hannon, who retired in 1981. “Ben was setting course records on every course in this state when he was 15 and 16 years old. When he came to school, all I had to do was leave him alone. There was nothing in that boy’s game that needed fixing. He’s still the best young player I ever saw - and that includes Woods and [Phil] Mickelson.”

Kite and Crenshaw led the Longhorns to NCAA team titles in Crenshaw’s first two years and, thanks to the absence of a playoff, they shared the individual award in 1972. In 1973, Crenshaw won an unprecedented third straight NCAA crown (Mickelson won three in four years).

Crenshaw’s college success was matched by his performance in amateur events. He won the Eastern and Southern titles twice each, along with one win in the Northeast, Porter Cup, Sunnehanna, Texas and Western events. He helped the USA team win the Eisenhower Trophy in Argentina, despite an anti-American group detonating a bomb at its hotel.

“Ben was a pillar that week in spite of what happened,” says Marty West, a WATC teammate. “What most amazed me was his ability to putt under pressure. É He had a gift no one else seemed to have.”

Crenshaw didn’t win everything. In three trips to the U.S. Amateur, then contested at stroke play, his best was a tie for second. “People talk about my near misses at the U.S. and British Opens and the PGA,” he says, “not having my name on the Havemayer Trophy is on a similar level for me. It wasn’t a matter of being too excited or overconfident. At the end of the day, I just didn’t play well enough.”

Yet he played well enough to shake up some pros. Playing as an amateur, Crenshaw came close to winning the 1971 Houston Open and 1972 Heritage Classic.

“You didn’t see many 18-year-olds with the talent level and the maturity that Crenshaw had,” says Ken Venturi, the former Open champion. “Most amateurs at that time played pro events to get some experience, but Ben was there to win.”

Crenshaw won the first event he played after earning his Tour card, the 1973 San Antonio-Texas Open. Now he knows how the pros felt when he arrived; Crenshaw turned 50 in January and is moving to the Senior PGA Tour. “I can’t compete with those guys,” laughs Crenshaw of the regular tour.

“Right now, I’m at a bit of a crossroads and not entirely sure what the next chapter will be,” Crenshaw confesses. “But you know, I’ve been so fortunate. I’ve gotten to visit so many places and meet so many wonderful people. It’s been great, it really has.”

Crenshaw clearly includes those pre-pro days in that assessment. “Amateur golf absolutely meant the world to me,” he says. “Those years were some of the most enjoyable times of my life.”