Ben Crenshaw - "The 1984 Masters" SHORT TRACK

Intro Music 0:07

Straight down the middle. It went straight down the middle. Then it started to fall.

Mike Gonzalez 0:15

Let's start with the Masters. Uh 44 starts in the Masters and made the cut in 20 of his first 21 played. I'd challenge anybody to match it. Maybe Nicholas, perhaps, or I don't know about Tiger, but eight top fives, 11 top 10s, 18 top 25s. Of course, your best finishes, uh, 84 and and and 95. Let's start with the 1984 victory, which was a win by two over Tom Watson.

SPEAKER_00 0:48

I um was one of the weeks where I held my temper and Jack and I felt a calmness with the way I was playing. Uh I had um I had gotten a new driver, and I'll never forget this. Uh north of Houston, there's a little town called Humble, Texas, and this guy had a this guy had a blonde McGregor driver, an M85W driver, and I just loved the look of it. And I said, wow, that's I love that driver, and it helped me. And uh I had just signed a contract with Walter Hagen, uh, and I had a set of irons that I had gotten at Durell uh in late February, and I really loved those irons. Uh so I was happy with my equipment. Um I I came into there playing well. I finished about fifth at Greensboro the week before, and um wow, started started well in the tournament and kept going, and some wonderful things happened that week on the course, and um uh was right up right up by the lead going to the last day. Got off to a nice start, and uh I had birdie number eight and number nine that last day, and then went to the tenth hole and hit a so-so drive, and I hit a three-iron second. I kind of hung it out to the right and got it on the front of the green, and lo and behold, I make this 65-foot putt, which I would have killed for a two-putt at that juncture. Because, you know, Larry Nelson and Tom Kite were right there and I made that putt, I could not believe that. I said, good Lord, and I had to calm down for three holes after that. And uh got through and made a birdie at twelve uh with a nice putt, and I got through and and and and it got to be one or two ahead, and then fourteen, I'll never forget this. I did not hit a great drive, and I had to hit play a draw shot, and I drew it to the back left of that green, and the pin was down front right. So I had this like a 90-foot putt that I had to roll it down the hill, and I left it 14 feet short. And somehow I made that second putt. It was one of the hardest putts I ever had over there. Uh and I made that and it really calmed me down to play the last few holes and uh played the last hole with a two-shot uh lead. Tom Watson made a big rush at the end. And uh wow, I I uh had a good drive in 18, hit a second shot up on the green, and started walking up there, and I started thinking about high school golf and college golf and where I'd been in this game, and finally it happened. I'd been close in six or seven major championships at the time, and you never know until you prove it to yourself. Uh you feel like you're capable, but uh if you hold yourself together sometimes, it it's it's better off. But uh uh, what a relief. And uh, you know, one thing too is that uh the nicest thing about that is that my father was there with me. Um and to have him watch that, uh we had the greatest joy in that.

Mike Gonzalez 4:45

We hope you've enjoyed this short track of For the Good of the Game. And please, wherever you listen to your podcast on Apple and Spotify, if you like what you hear, please subscribe, spread the word, and tell your friends. Until we tee it up again for the good of the game, so long, everybody.

Intro Music 5:07

When it started just like just smacked off land.