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Crenshaw charges to destiny with 2-shot victory in Masters
By David Barrett
Staff Sports Writer
Augusta, Ga., Monday, April 16, 1984 -- The moment of destiny finally arrived for Ben Crenshaw on Sunday at the 48th Masters Tournament.
On a magical afternoon at Augusta National Golf Club, Crenshaw did what people had been expecting him to do for years. He won a major championship.
Crenshaw grabbed the Masters by the throat with three consecutive birdies in the middle of the round, then took a stirring stroll down the back nine while thousands cheered him on to the finish off a four-under-par 68 that forever will be etched in his memory.
The 32-year-old Texas finished with an 11-under-par 277 for four rounds, good for a two-shot victory over two-time Masters champion Tom Watson.
Thanks largely to birdies at the eighth, ninth and 10th holes - not to mention one at the devilish little 12th and yet another at the 15th - Crenshaw had a comfortable four-shot margin going into the last two holes. The lead was halved when Crenshaw bogeyed the 17th and Watson birdied the 18th to grab solo second place, but by then the outcome had been decided and Crenshaw could enjoy his long walk to the 18th green.
``It was a feeling of relief,'' said Crenshaw, who was beginning to wonder if he ever would win one of the major titles he covets so badly.
From the moment he left the campus of the University of Texas and flashed onto the tour in 1973 by winning the first tournament he entered as a pro, Crenshaw was expected to win one of golf's four major championships - the Masters, U.S. and British Opens and PGA Championship. Probably more than one.
He had come so close so many times in the last 11 years, only to fail, that there were doubts in Crenshaw's mind.
``I've finished second (in the Masters) by one shot. I've lost in a playoff at the PGA. I hit it in the water on the 71st hole of the U.S. Open and double-bogeyed the 71st hole at the British Open when I had a chance to win. You start wondering whether you are really going to hold yourself together,'' he said.
He held together like glue Sunday, making up a two-shot deficit to Tom Kite at the start of the round to take the lead at the ninth hole and hold it the rest of the way.
``Today was my day. I was determined I was not going to let any shots slip today,'' he said. ``I just tried to control myself and control my golf game. I tried to hit fairways and greens, and I did a pretty good job.''
Crenshaw's surge ended the hopes of a large number of other hopefuls, most notably former boyhood rival and college teammate Kite.
Kite, also looking for his first major title, went into the final round with a one-shot lead over Mark Lye and two over Crenshaw, David Graham and Nick Faldo. His chances literally went down the drain when he hit his tee shot into the water on the par-three 12th, making a triple bogey that put his six shots behind. Kite finished with a 75 that left him in a tie for sixth at 282.
Those who finished closest to Crenshaw came from relatively far back. Watson closed with a 69 to take second place at 279. David Edwards and Gil Morgan surged from six shots back at the start of the round by shooting 67s, which vaulted them into a tie for third at 280.
Larry Nelson played the front nine in 33 and was Crenshaw's closest challenger early on the back nine, but made two double bogeys on the last seven holes and was fifth at 281 with a closing 70.
Ronnie Black (68), Graham (73) and Lye (74) joined Kite in a tie for sixth at 282.
Midway through the fourth round, there were eight players within three shots of the lead, and it looked a wide-open tournament. That's when Crenshaw practically said ``this tournament is mine.''
Crenshaw was one behind Kite after seven holes, which he had played in one under (a birdie at No. 2). Ben threw a left jab with an eight-foot birdie putt on the eighth. He threw a right jab with a 10-foot birdie putt at the ninth to go ahead by one. Then he wound up and delivered a haymaker with a monstrous 60-foot putt for an improbable birdie at the 10th.
``That putt on 10 was really something,'' said Crenshaw, who is known for his velvety putting touch. ``I couldn't do that again if I had a thousand balls.''
The putt had a devastating effect on his challengers, especially Kite and Lye who had the unpleasant fortune to be standing in the 10th fairway watching him do it.
``When we saw his putt go in on 10, it just turned the lights out,'' said Lye. ``We knew his putt was tough to get down in two, and it went in the hole. Tom, you could just see it virtually hurt him.''
``Yes, we watched him make all those putts,'' said Kite. ``As good as Ben was on the greens today, I was that bad. I did not play as badly as my score indicates. I made one bad swing (the tee shot at 12) and it really nailed me.
``The big swing came at the 10th. After nine, I was one down and that's nothing with nine holes to go.''
Kite missed the green on the long par-four 10th and bogeyed. All of a sudden, Crenshaw had a three-shot lead after being one behind four holes earlier.
Nelson pulled within two shots with a birdie on the 11th, but promptly fell back with a poor tee shot at the 155-yard 12th that never had a chance of clearing the creek in front of the green. His bid ended with that double bogey, and he made another at the 17th.
Crenshaw slipped a little with a bogey on the 455-yard par-four 11th where he missed the green to the right, making sure he didn't go in the pond to the left. He quickly reasserted his command by handling the 12th hole, hitting a six-iron straight at the pin on the right side of the green and finishing 12 feet from the hole.
Crenshaw made that birdie putt and, while standing in the 13th fairway, saw Kite hit his tee shot on No. 12 into the water. He knew then that all he had to do was avoid making any big mistakes down the stretch.
``I was ready to haul out the wood (and go for the par-five in two), but then I saw Kite hit it in the water and that set up a whole new thing for me. I started thinking about laying up.''
Crenshaw laid up on both par-fives on the back nine, getting a par at No. 13, and pitching to 15 feet to set up a successful birdie putt at No. 15 that put him ahead by four.
He had escaped trouble on the 14th where a bad drive to the left made things difficult. He hit the green in two, but faced a nearly impossible across-the-green putt on a roly-poly green. He left the first putt 20 feet short, then calmly rolled it in.
When Crenshaw hit the green and two-putted for par on the 16th, he was able to relax on the last two holes.
The victory gave Crenshaw a $108,000 first prize, the biggest payoff at the Masters.
Neither that nor the potential of future endorsements meant much to Crenshaw compared with the satisfaction of winning.
``I've never really been interested in making money that much,'' he said. ``This (winning) means more to me than anything.''
Crenshaw owns two second-place finishes at the Masters, including last year, although neither time did he come down the stretch with a chance to win.
``Ben is to be commended for playing so well today,'' said Kite. ``You have to take your hat off to him. You don't have it given to you. You have to go out and take it, and he did.''
Watson, who won the Masters in 1977 and 1981, birdied the 13th, 15th and 18th to take second, but never was able to make much of a title bid. He made three bogeys on the first 10 holes to offset three bogeys in that span.
``I never got close enough to the lead to put any real pressure on Ben,'' said Watson. ``I made some good putts coming in, but I was too far back to catch up.''
Edwards had a 32 on the front nine and Morgan a 33, but they started so far back, they needed either to put similar numbers on the board on the back side or rely on Crenshaw to fall back. They didn't and he didn't.
Augusta native Larry Mize finished a respectable showing in his first Masters with a 72 and tied for 11th at 284. Jack Nicklaus had a 70 and was at 286.
The long day began at 8 a.m. with the completion of the third round and the last group on the 12th hole. Lye had a one-shot lead at that time, but played the last seven holes one over. A double bogey at the 16th put Lye permanently out of the lead. He finished with a 73 in the third round and didn't get much going in the last round, but was satisfied with his performance in his first Masters.
``I was real proud of myself. I didn't let things slide like I have in some other tournaments. I was just happy to be a part of it,'' he said.
Kite played the last seven holes of his third round one-under Sunday morning, rapping in a 10-foot birdie putt at the 18th to complete a 69 and take the lead.
Crenshaw was even par for five holes in the morning, getting a birdie at the 15th and three-putting for a bogey at the 16th. Better things were in store for him in the afternoon.
``This is really a sweet, sweet win,'' he said while basking in the glow of victory. ``I don't think there will ever be a sweeter moment.''
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