Not Tiger Woods and Costantino Rocca, who played together in Sunday's final round at the Augusta National Golf Club.

Rather, Crenshaw was talking about Tiger Woods and his caddie, Mike ``Fluff'' Cowan, who worked together all week en route to a record-setting performance in the 61st Masters Tournament.

They formed quite an unlikely pair.

There was the dashing 21-year-old Mozart of the fairways, the one-man Rainbow Coalition with $60 million in endorsement contracts. And there was his sidekick, Cowan, a 20-year veteran of the PGA Tour with a thick, white mustache, bushy gray hair and a blocky, lumpy physique.

They read putts together, discussed club selections and, when play bogged down, made small talk. Even when Cowan pulled out a cigarette for a few quick puffs, Woods stood close by, oblivious to the smoke.

The whole process was natural and effective for Woods and Cowan, who have now won five tournaments (including one in Thailand) in their 8« months together.

``It's awesome,'' Cowan said early Sunday evening. ``It feels wonderful to have won here at Augusta. I've been here a lot of times, but I truly have never been close to winning. I don't know what word to use. It just feels wonderful.''

And what of Woods' incredible performance, in which his total of 18-under-par 270 broke the tournament record previously shared by Jack Nicklaus (1965) and Raymond Floyd (1976).

``I'm not amazed, I believe he's as good as he showed everybody this week,'' Cowan said. ``Tiger's a great player. He showed the world this week how good he is. I'm not amazed. I believe.''

Many of Woods' competitors believe, too. They believe in the power of one of the best player-caddie combinations on tour.

``There's one thing people are forgetting to take into account,'' said Paul Azinger, who played with Woods on Friday and trailed in that matchup by seven shots. ``As good as Tiger was in college, he was carrying his own bag. Fluff is fantastic. Just having that steady force, somebody who absolutely knows your swing and is able to give you a second opinion - that makes a big difference.''

Cowan, 49, spent his first 19 years on tour with Peter Jacobsen. They formed quite a team in their own right, albeit more of a comedy team. Thanks to Jacobsen's popularity and his connections, Cowan made a couple of television commercials for ESPN and Nike.

In one memorable spot, Jacobsen walked on water while Cowan followed along behind, trudging waist-deep in a man-made lake while hoisting Jacobsen's bag of clubs overhead.

Last fall, with Jacobsen sidelined by a back injury, Cowan joined Woods for the start of his professional career. Jacobsen's Nike connection made Cowan a natural choice for a short-term loan. But Woods proved so successful, Cowan opted to make one of the most difficult decisions of his life.

He called Jacobsen after a month with Woods and told him he was quitting. The 21-year-old wunderkind was a better bet than the 43-year-old with the creaky back.

While there are many caddies as competent as Cowan, few are as recognizable. His story is nearly as interesting as his appearance.

The son of a Maine house painter, Cowan became the first in his family to attend college when he received a golf scholarship to tiny William Penn College in Oskaloosa, Iowa. In 1969, Cowan qualified for the NAIA national tournament.

He quickly realized he would not be good enough to play golf professionally, but he wanted to stay around the game. The devoted fan of the Grateful Dead spent the early '70s working on grounds and greens crews, then tried the caddie profession a few years later.

He hooked up with Jacobsen, and they were off on a laughter-filled odyssey that would net six tour victories and $4.6 million in winnings over the next two decades.

Then came the experiment with Woods. It now appears permanent.

Woods used an Augusta National caddie, Tommy Bennett, at the 1995 Masters. Last year Woods used Dr. Jay Brunza, the family friend and professional psychologist who often looped for Woods on the amateur circuit.

This time it was Cowan's turn. While Jacobsen has played in 11 Masters, Cowan was on his bag for only seven of those.

Tour caddies were prohibited at the Masters until 1983, and Cowan, not trusting his limited knowledge of the Augusta National greens, chose to walk outside the ropes with a guest pass the next few years. He observed the local caddies, got an eyeful of putts that broke the wrong way, asked a ton of questions and eventually made the leap.

Now Cowan, who lives in Columbus, Ohio, might be the single-most important member of Team Tiger.

``Having Fluff has taken Tiger to another level,'' Azinger said. ``There are a lot of caddies who could have helped him, but Fluff is the guy. Having a caddie like that elevated him.''