As a senior in high school, Crenshaw finished thirty-second in the 1970 U.S. Open – ahead of Gary Player, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. His playing partner during the tournament, Lee Trevino, called him "the best eighteen year-old golfer I’ve ever seen." Crenshaw would win eighteen of the nineteen tournaments he competed in that year.
At the University of Texas, Crenshaw would be a three-time All-American and be named the top collegiate player in the country. In his first six weeks on the PGA Tour, Crenshaw would bank a cool $76,749 in winnings, and his smooth game and easy-going manner won him respect from his peers and a steady following in the gallery. After retooling his swing and mental approach to the game, Crenshaw began his assault on the PGA majors. Unflappable play and a spectacular sixty-foot putt helped him hold off Tom Watson and longtime friend and rival Tom Kite to take home the green jacket at the 1984 Masters. He would add another win at Augusta in 1995 and was captain of the 1999 U.S. Ryder Cup team that stormed back on the final day to win the most dramatic Ryder Cup in tournament history.
Crenshaw now plays on the Champions Tour and is a leading golf-course designer and golf historian.
The Skinny:
-19 PGA Tour victories
-Three-time NCAA Champion
-$7,640,548 in career earnings
-Member of the U.S. and World Golf Halls of Fame
The Rest of the Story:
At Austin High School, Crenshaw competed in track and field, basketball, baseball and was a quarterback on the football team.
