Jackson's 45th isn't enough
At 8:22 this morning, when Ben Crenshaw hits his opening tee shot at Augusta National Golf Club, Carl Jackson will extend a little-known Masters Tournament record.
It will be the 45th Masters that Jackson has worked as a caddie - 30 of those with Crenshaw.
Jackson and Buck Moore are the last of the traditional Augusta National caddies in the tournament. Moore is working his 31st Masters, for Olin Browne.
"It feels like it's longer," Jackson said. "That's a long time if you think about it."
Since he worked his first Masters in 1960, Jackson has missed only one year, when he was recovering from an illness in 2000.
Jackson helped Crenshaw win his Masters titles in 1984 and 1995, getting him into one of the most famous pictures in Masters history. After Crenshaw holed out to win the 1995 tournament, he bent over and put his head on Jackson's chest and Jackson hugged him. Crenshaw was spent from the emotion of the week: He had attended the funeral of his mentor, friend and golf instructor, Harvey Penick, earlier in the week and dedicated the tournament to him.
"People still love it today," Jackson said of the picture and the stirring Crenshaw victory. "People know me from that. Tiger's first win, Phil's win, Nicklaus' last win were special, but so was Ben's last one."
In the aftermath of the 1995 victory, Jackson received bundles of mail. At least three dozen letters, he said, had the same sentiment.
"The gist was that they spoke about the hug with Ben in my chest," said Jackson. "They said, 'That's America. That's the white man and the black man taking care of each other.' Those were some nice letters. I've still got them."
The Crenshaw-Jackson picture shows the depth of affection the men hold for each other.
"Ben just has a loving heart," Jackson said.
Jackson said Crenshaw and Warren Stephens, the son of late Augusta National Chairman Jack Stephens, are like "little brothers" to him.
Jackson has known Warren Stephens since Stephens was 9. He works for Stephens in Little Rock, Ark., at the Tom Fazio-designed Alotian Club, where Jackson is the caddie manager.
"They're like family sometimes," Jackson said of Crenshaw and Stephens. "I've been blessed twice that way."
Crenshaw and Stephens were there when Jackson needed them the most. In 2000, he was diagnosed with colon cancer, and Jackson's doctor told him of a new chemotherapy treatment that might save him. Jackson knew he didn't have enough money to pay for it.
"(The doctor) pleaded with me to try the treatment," Jackson said. "I said, 'I don't want to be the one that leaves my family in a lot of debt. If I'm that sick, let me go.'"
As soon as the doctor left the room, the phone rang. It was Crenshaw.
He said, 'Carl, I don't know what we've got to do to make you well, but you tell them I said do it and not worry about anything else,'" Jackson said. "When he said that, I boo-hooed. It was the first time I'd cried in 50 years. It was showing, 'Hey, somebody cares.'"
So did Stephens, who had also heard of Jackson's condition.
"I didn't know it, but at the same time Warren Stephens was looking for me," Jackson said. "Those two guys came to my rescue."
Jackson was laid up for a year after the surgery.
"Everything worked out perfect," said Jackson, who returned to caddie in the 2001 Masters. "I feel good. I'm going to throw these cigarettes away and watch my two youngest go through college."
He's feeling so good that his goal is to caddie in 50 Masters.
"I want to; 50 is a nice number," Jackson said.
Crenshaw, who is 54, was noncommittal when asked about playing in four more Masters after this one.
"We've never talked about it," Jackson said. "He just assumes it. The Masters, that's us. I don't know what it's going to be like the next Masters he has and I'm not there or the next Masters I have and he's not there."
If Crenshaw bowed out of the Masters before Jackson hits his 50th anniversary, would Jackson switch to another player in order to reach his goal?
"I don't think so, unless it's Tiger Woods," he said jokingly.
Crenshaw hasn't made the cut in the Masters since 1997. The 460 yards that have been added to the course since 2002 have hurt Crenshaw, who is not a long hitter.
"I'm going to be a realist and say we need it to stay dry this week," Jackson said. "If it stays dry, we could dream a little bit because we could get the ball out a little farther. Then it will be a tournament with a lot of scrambling, and Ben Crenshaw knows how to scramble on this course."
Reach David Westin at (706) 724-0851 or david.westin@augustachronicle.com.
