Golf
b. Jan. 11, 1952, Austin, TX
At the University of Texas, Crenshaw won the NCAA golf championship in 1971 and 1973 and tied with his teammate, Tom Kite, in 1972. After graduating, he won the qualifying competition for the PGA tour by 12 strokes, shooting a 30 on the last 9 holes.
He won the Texas Open, his first tournament as a professional, and it seemed as if a great career was getting underway. But, while Crenshaw won a fair share of tournaments and a lot of money, the major events eluded him until he won the 1984 Masters.
Crenshaw had a good chance to win the 1975 U. S. Open until he hit his tee shot into the water on the 71st hole. Similarly, he had a chance to win the 1978 British Open, but took a double bogey on the 71st hole to fall out of contention. And he tied David Graham for the 1979 PGA championship only to lose on the 3rd hole of the playoff.
In his Masters victory, Crenshaw opened with a 67 to take the lead, then shot 72 and 70, falling 2 strokes back. He tied for the lead after 8 holes of the final round and birdied 3 of the next 4 holes to take over for good. He said afterward, "This is really a sweet, sweet win. I don't think there will ever be a sweeter moment."
Through 1998, Crenshaw had earned $7,064,604 on the tour, 14th on the all-time list.
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