The Masters: The Legacy of the Black Caddies at Augusta National
They would often form special bonds with the golfers that lasted decades. Carl Jackson caddied for Ben Crenshaw dozens of times, including for his two wins at Augusta.Thirty years ago this week, on the 18th green of the Augusta National Golf Club, a caddie comforted his weeping player, hugging him tight and supporting him. It was their second Masters victory together — 11 years after the first one. The player’s tears were of joy, but also of relief after a week where emotion off the course had been running through the tournament.Ben Crenshaw, the 19-time PGA Tour champion, and Carl Jackson, among the most famous Augusta National caddies, were that pair. Jackson had been on Crenshaw’s bag at the Masters since 1976, and the pair had been in contention several times since their first victory in 1984.But that week was different. The tournament started just days after Crenshaw’s mentor and teacher, Harvey Penick, had died, adding an emotional weight to what Crenshaw called his favorite tournament.The image of a tall Black caddie supporting a bent-over white golfer showed more than victory and relief. It captured the bond between two men who had become friends.“Ben was hovered over,” Jackson said in an interview last month. “I said to him, ‘It’s going to be OK. You just won the Masters.’ He had a lot to carry on his mind during the tournament that week, thinking about Harvey Penick.”Crenshaw said that the two were in sync at the 1995 Masters.“We’ve been in the heat many, many times,” he said in an interview last month, referring to that feeling of being close to victory. “It’s just so much fun. It’s what you strive for. To have pulled off winning the Masters twice, and with Carl, is one of my warmest memories.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More