Ben Crenshaw says goodbye to The Masters after 44 years
Saturday 11 April 2015 02:09, UK
Ben Crenshaw is looking forward to watching protege Jordan Spieth over the weekend after playing his final Masters round at Augusta.
Crenshaw was close to tears as he finished off his second round and he shared a long embrace with caddie Carl Jackson on the 18th green before signing for an 85, although the score barely mattered to the 63-year-old.
He won his first Masters in 1984 and duplicated the feat in 1995 only a week after the death of his beloved teacher, Harvey Penick.
"I just will never forget that as long as I live," he said of the scenes around the 18th, where his wife and daughters were there to cheer him on, along with a huge crowd of supporters.
The talk quickly turned to Spieth, who set a new Masters record at the other end of the leaderboard, his 14 under par 36-hole total the lowest in the tournament's history, beating Raymond Floyd's 1976 mark.
Crenshaw has passed along decades of knowledge about Augusta National during practice rounds with Spieth, and he would love to see his protege win to complete a passing of the Texan baton in his farewell year.
"I'm kind of amazed at how it stands now with my friend Jordan," Crenshaw said. "I really do like Jordan's fire. You can see it bubble up. But he seems to keep it in check.
"It will be fascinating to watch him. It's going to be a key for him to try to stay calm.
"Jordan is entirely capable. It's keeping his emotions in check. He's obviously in a real hot streak, very confident, very bold. He knows what he's doing."
Spieth is clearly grateful to Crenshaw for his advice, and he has no intention of passing on the secrets he has received about the legendary course, and particularly the tricky greens.
"Ben has been a mentor to me, somebody that's been very helpful, especially around this place," Spieth said.
"Gave me a little advice on putts, on where he thinks putts go versus where everyone else thinks putts go. I'd rather not share that.
"It has been helpful, for sure, on shorter putts and ones where you've got to really commit to a line outside the hole and trust it. It has been very helpful. It has all been speed-based on the greens with his advice."
