Throwback Thursday: Caddie-inspired changes help Crenshaw win 1995 Masters

Ben Crenshaw might not have won the 1995 Masters Tournament had Carl Jackson not taken the “caddie shortcut” to the edge of the ninth fairway at Augusta National Golf Club to save some time.

The move put Jackson about 150 yards away from Crenshaw, who was teeing off on No. 9.

It allowed Jackson to see two flaws in Crenshaw’s swing during a pivotal practice round, and helped set in motion Crenshaw’s unlikely victory.

Crenshaw was struggling with his game – and his emotions. Famed golf instructor Harvey Penick, who helped Crenshaw when he had swing problems, had died the previous Sunday.

Crenshaw would travel to Austin, Texas, for Penick’s funeral the next morning, a day before the first round of the Masters.

“I was an emotional wreck; my concentration was not there,” Crenshaw said recently. “My game was bad and so was I after that news Sunday night (about Penick’s death).”

When Crenshaw returned from Penick’s funeral, he came back with confidence in his game, thanks to the changes Jackson had suggested.

And playing with memories of Penick in his head, Crenshaw went out and shot 70-67-69-68. His 14-under-par 274 clipped Davis Love III by a shot.

Afterward, Crenshaw credited Jackson with helping him win.

Jackson knows his friend’s swing so well that even Crenshaw’s late father, Charlie Crenshaw, would encourage him to say something if he felt his son’s swing was slightly off.