Ben Crenshaw is a former professional golfer. Born in Austin, Texas, Crenshaw attended and played golf at Austin High School and the University of Texas, where he won three NCAA Championships from 1971 to 1973. He turned professional in 1973.
In 1973, Crenshaw became the second player in Tour history to win the first event of his career. Together with his teammate George Burns, he won the 1979 Walt Disney World National Team Championship in Orlando. He won the Masters Tournament in 1984. In the mid-1980s, he suffered from Graves' disease, a disease of the thyroid, but he continued to accumulate victories, finishing with 19 on the PGA Tour, including an emotional second Masters victory in 1995, which came a week after the death of his mentor Harvey Penick. In 1999, he was selected as captain of the United States Ryder Cup team. 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 81⁄2 of the final day's 12 points.
Crenshaw is widely regarded as one of the best putters in golf history. Since 1986, Crenshaw has been a partner with Bill Coore in Coore & Crenshaw, a golf course design firm. The 2015 Masters Tournament was the 44th and final for Crenshaw.
