Ben Crenshaw (born January 11, 1952 in Austin, Texas) is an American golfer. He attended the University of Texas and turned professional in 1973.
Crenshaw won his first event in his rookie season on the PGA Tour, and picked up a win more seasons than not from then on. In 1984 he won The Masters, one of golf's four major championships. In the mid 1980s he suffered from Graves Disease, a disease of the thyroid, but he continued to accumulate victories, finishing with nineteen on the PGA Tour, including a second Masters in 1995.
Crenshaw won several further professional events outside the PGA Tour, including individual and team titles in the World Cup of Golf in 1988.
Crenshaw is widely regarded as one of the best putters in golf history. His instructor growing up, Harvey Penick, taught Ben 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 (a victory which came just a week after Penick's death), "Gentle Ben" did not record a single three-putt all tournament.
He is now a noted golf course designer, working in partnership with Bill Coore.
His step-mother Roberta Crenshaw was an Austin-area philanthropist.
