Ben Daniel Crenshaw (born January 11, 1952) is a retired American professional golfer who has won 19 events on the PGA Tour, including two major championships: the Masters Tournament in 1984 and 1995. He is nicknamed Gentle Ben.

Early life and amateur career

Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Crenshaw played golf at Austin High School and the University of Texas, where he won three NCAA Championships from 1971 to 1973. Crenshaw was also a member of the Kappa Alpha Order fraternity.

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. 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). Crenshaw remains one 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. Following five runner-up finishes in major championships without a victory, including a sudden-death playoff at the 1979 PGA Championship, Crenshaw won the Masters Tournament in 1984. In the mid-1980s, he suffered from Graves' disease, a condition of the thyroid, but continued to accumulate victories; he finished with nineteen PGA Tour wins, including an emotional second Masters victory in 1995, which came a week after the death of his mentor Harvey Penick. In 1999, Crenshaw was the captain of the United States Ryder Cup team for the matches at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, a Boston 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 81/2 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 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 and the 1982 Australian PGA Championship. And he famously had two runner-ups at The Open Championship, behind Jack Nicklaus in 1978 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. 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 was the 44th and final for Crenshaw. Crenshaw has the worst playoff record in PGA Tour 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 as debutantes at the International Debutante Ball at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. Crenshaw is a Republican and has donated money to multiple Republican candidates.

Amateur wins

Professional wins (30)

PGA Tour wins (19)

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

European Tour wins (3)

European Tour playoff record (0–1)

Other wins (9)

Senior wins (1)

Major championships

Wins (2)

Results timeline

{{legend|lime|Win}} {{legend|yellow|Top 10}} {{legend|#eeeeee|Did not play}} LA = Low amateur CUT = missed the halfway cut WD = withdrew "T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

Results in The Players Championship

{{legend|yellow|Top 10}} CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place

Notable

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur Professional