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Ben Crenshaw

United States · born , Austin, Texas, USA

2major championships

Summary

  • First major 1984 The Masters
  • Last major 1995 The Masters
  • Ryder Cup 4 Cups · 3-8-1 · 3.5 points (29.2%)
  • Ryder Cup captain 1999
  • Runner-up in majors 5 times

Wins

  1. 1984 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · 277 (-11) · by 2 strokes from Tom Watson
  2. 1995 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · 274 (-14) · by 1 stroke from Davis Love III

Near misses

  1. 1972 U.S. Amateur Charlotte Country Club · runner-up to Vinny Giles · 285
  2. 1976 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · runner-up to Raymond Floyd · 279
  3. 1977 The Open Turnberry (Ailsa Course) · finished T5 · 281 (+1)
  4. 1978 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · runner-up to Jack Nicklaus · 283
  5. 1979 PGA Championship Oakland Hills Country Club (South Course) · runner-up to David Graham · 272 · lost playoff
  6. 1979 The Open Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club · runner-up to Seve Ballesteros · 286
  7. 1980 The Open Muirfield · finished 3 · 277 (-7)
  8. 1981 The Open Royal St George's Golf Club · finished T8 · 286 (+6)
  9. 1983 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · runner-up to Seve Ballesteros · 284
  10. 1987 The Open Muirfield · finished T4 · 281 (-3)

Ryder Cup

4 Cups, 12 matches: 3 won, 8 lost, 1 halved, 3.5 points. Foursomes 1-2-0, four-ball 0-4-1, singles 2-2-0.

  1. 1981 Walton Heath Golf Club USA · USA won 18.5–9.5 · 1-1-0, 1 point · automatic
  2. 1983 PGA National Golf Club USA · USA won 14.5–13.5 · 2-1-1, 2.5 points · automatic
  3. 1987 Muirfield Village Golf Club USA · Europe won 15–13 · 0-3-0, 0 points · automatic
  4. 1995 Oak Hill Country Club (East Course) USA · Europe won 14.5–13.5 · 0-3-0, 0 points · automatic
  5. 1999 Captain USA · won 14.5–13.5

Rivals

Beat him

Ryder Cup partners

Ryder Cup opponents

Next in the chain: Raymond Floyd's rivals →

Moments

  1. 1984 Masters Crenshaw started the final round two strokes behind 54-hole leader Tom Kite and closed with a 68 for his first major title.
  2. 1984 Masters Masters rookie Mark Lye led after 36 holes at 135 before fading to a tie for sixth.
  3. 1995 Masters Crenshaw won a week after the death of his longtime teacher Harvey Penick, having served as a pallbearer at the funeral the day before the tournament began.
  4. 1995 Masters A 19-year-old Tiger Woods, then the U.S. Amateur champion, made the cut in his first major and was the only amateur to do so.
  5. 1987 Ryder Cup Ben Crenshaw broke his putter after the 6th hole of his singles and putted with a 1-iron (and other clubs) the rest of the way. He lost 1 up to Eamonn Darcy, who holed the putt on 18.

Results by championship

    Best day

    1984 Masters

    Augusta National Golf Club · 277 (-11) · by 2 strokes from Tom Watson

    Crenshaw started the final round two strokes behind 54-hole leader Tom Kite and closed with a 68 for his first major title.

    Masters rookie Mark Lye led after 36 holes at 135 before fading to a tie for sixth.

    Chosen by rule: his widest winning margin in a major. Year page: 1984.

    Career line, 1972–1995

    Masters
    1976 Masters: runner-up to Raymond Floyd1983 Masters: runner-up to Seve Ballesteros1984 Masters: won1995 Masters: won
    PGA Championship
    1979 PGA Championship: runner-up to David Graham
    The Open
    1977 The Open: finished T51978 The Open: runner-up to Jack Nicklaus1979 The Open: runner-up to Seve Ballesteros1980 The Open: finished 31981 The Open: finished T81987 The Open: finished T4
    Ryder Cup
    1981 Ryder Cup (USA): 1-1-01983 Ryder Cup (USA): 2-1-11987 Ryder Cup (USA): 0-3-01995 Ryder Cup (USA): 0-3-0
    U.S. Amateur
    1972 U.S. Amateur: runner-up
    19751980198519901995

    16 results. Hover or tap a mark; click it for the year.

    • Major win
    • Runner-up
    • Top 10
    • Ryder Cup, USA

    Ben Crenshaw was born on January 11, 1952, in Austin, Texas, USA. Crenshaw won 2 major championships: 2 Masters (1984, 1995). Crenshaw played in 4 Ryder Cups for USA (1981, 1983, 1987, 1995), winning 3, losing 8 and halving 1 of 12 matches for 3.5 points, and captained the side in 1999.

    See Ben Crenshaw in our rooms: The Masters, U.S. Open, The Open, Greatest Golfer by State and Every Ground.

    Cards you pull this visit stack here. Tap one to go back to it.

    The record

    Wins in the majors (2)

    1. 1984 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · 277 (-11) · by 2 strokes from Tom Watson
    2. 1995 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · 274 (-14) · by 1 stroke from Davis Love III

    Near misses

    Top-10 finishes are listed for The Open, the one championship with a full top 10 every year.

    1. 1972 U.S. Amateur Charlotte Country Club · runner-up to Vinny Giles · 285
    2. 1976 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · runner-up to Raymond Floyd · 279
    3. 1977 The Open Turnberry (Ailsa Course) · finished T5 · 281 (+1)
    4. 1978 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · runner-up to Jack Nicklaus · 283
    5. 1979 PGA Championship Oakland Hills Country Club (South Course) · runner-up to David Graham · 272 · lost playoff
    6. 1979 The Open Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club · runner-up to Seve Ballesteros · 286
    7. 1980 The Open Muirfield · finished 3 · 277 (-7)
    8. 1981 The Open Royal St George's Golf Club · finished T8 · 286 (+6)
    9. 1983 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · runner-up to Seve Ballesteros · 284
    10. 1987 The Open Muirfield · finished T4 · 281 (-3)

    Ryder Cup

    Crenshaw played 4 Ryder Cups for USA: 12 matches, 3 won, 8 lost, 1 halved, 3.5 points (29.2% of those available). By format: foursomes 1-2-0, four-ball 0-4-1, singles 2-2-0 (won-lost-halved).

    1. 1981 Walton Heath Golf Club USA · USA won 18.5–9.5 · 1-1-0, 1 point · automatic
    2. 1983 PGA National Golf Club USA · USA won 14.5–13.5 · 2-1-1, 2.5 points · automatic
    3. 1987 Muirfield Village Golf Club USA · Europe won 15–13 · 0-3-0, 0 points · automatic
    4. 1995 Oak Hill Country Club (East Course) USA · Europe won 14.5–13.5 · 0-3-0, 0 points · automatic
    5. 1999 Captain USA · won 14.5–13.5

    Partners, with matches played together: Calvin Peete (2), Jerry Pate (1), Tom Watson (1), Scott Simpson (1), Payne Stewart (1), Curtis Strange (1), Davis Love III (1).

    Masters Champions Dinner

    1985, as the 1984 champion

    1. Soup / salad Green tossed salad
    2. Main course New York prime steak; lobster tail; chicken
    3. Sides Baked potato; green beans amandine
    4. Dessert White nectar peaches with ice cream and raspberry purée

    Confidence: Reported. Menu status: Full. Still a club-style "surf, turf or chicken" menu; the peach tradition continues. Crenshaw himself remembers serving steak and chicken (Golf Channel, 2004).

    1996, as the 1995 champion

    1. Starter / appetizer Trays of appetizers garnished with jalapeño peppers
    2. Main course Ribs (45 lb), sausage (30 lb), brisket (25 lb) — Certified Angus beef brisket; St. Louis-style pork ribs; Hill Country sausage
    3. Sides Coleslaw; potato salad; beans (and 60 bottles of barbecue sauce)
    4. Dessert Peach cobbler

    Confidence: Reported. Menu status: Full. Texas barbecue reportedly from The Salt Lick, just outside Austin (blog). SI noted the club steward finding sides to match it. Champions signed a menu for the absent Olazábal. SI ("The Supper Club", 1999): Jack Nicklaus picked up a big jalapeño from the appetizer tray and popped it in. Golf Channel: barbecue imported "from his home town of Austin" (no source names The Salt Lick except a blog).

    Sources

    Elsewhere: Wikipedia.

    Every fact on this page comes from Golf Network News data sets compiled in October 2026 (Masters, PGA Championship, The Open, U.S. Women's Open, Ryder Cup, PGA Tour 2024–2026, major host sites, Champions Dinner menus, and the U.S. Open and state rooms). These are the sources those rows cite.

    1. pgatour.com: bio
    2. golfcompendium.com: masters winners
    3. golfcompendium.com: us open winners
    4. golfcompendium.com: pga championship winners
    5. golfcompendium.com: british open winners
    6. golfcompendium.com: most wins in major championships golf
    7. golfcompendium.com: pga tour career wins
    8. where2golf.com: ben crenshaw
    9. golfcompendium.com: hubert green wins majors
    10. Wikipedia: Ben Crenshaw
    11. golfcompendium.com: 1976 masters tournament
    12. golfcompendium.com: 1983 masters tournament
    13. WP: List of American Ryder Cup golfers
    14. rydercup.com — link no longer works (checked October 17, 2026): https://rydercup.com/news-media/usa/ryder-cup-team-usa-past-captains
    15. Golf Compendium
    16. Wikipedia: 1984 Masters Tournament
    17. golfcompendium.com: 1984 masters tournament
    18. nbcsports.com: by the numbers jumpsuit numbers for every masters champions caddie
    19. todays-golfer.com: how the masters prize money has changed over the years
    20. golf.com: masters purse masters winners payouts alltime
    21. Wikipedia: Masters Tournament
    22. pgatour.com: what is the cut at the masters tournament augusta national (archived copy; the original link no longer works)
    23. todays-golfer.com: cut rules
    24. golfcompendium.com: what is the cut at the masters
    25. liveabout.com: what are the yardages at augusta national during the masters 1564592
    26. Wikipedia: 1995 Masters Tournament
    27. golfcompendium.com: 1995 masters
    28. todays-golfer.com: the history of augusta caddies
    29. R&A 1977
    30. R&A 1980
    31. R&A 1981
    32. R&A 1987
    33. GC: 1981 ryder cup
    34. Wikipedia: 1981 Ryder Cup
    35. GC: 1983 ryder cup
    36. Wikipedia: 1983 Ryder Cup
    37. GC: 1987 ryder cup
    38. Wikipedia: 1987 Ryder Cup
    39. GC: 1995 ryder cup
    40. Deseret News 1995
    41. Wikipedia: 1995 Ryder Cup
    42. Golf Channel
    43. golfchannel.com: article brian hewitt glimpse inside masters champions dinner
    44. vault.si.com: the supper club the most exclusive spot in the game a place at the tab
    45. Wikipedia: U.S. Amateur
    46. championships-plt.usga.org: u s amateur champions