{"id":369067,"date":"2011-04-05T07:52:36","date_gmt":"2011-04-05T07:52:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/04\/05\/a-caddie-for-the-ages-celebrates-his-50th-masters-ap\/"},"modified":"2011-04-05T07:52:36","modified_gmt":"2011-04-05T07:52:36","slug":"a-caddie-for-the-ages-celebrates-his-50th-masters-ap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/05\/a-caddie-for-the-ages-celebrates-his-50th-masters-ap\/","title":{"rendered":"A caddie for the ages celebrates his 50th Masters (AP)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP)\u2014Everywhere he turns at Augusta National, Carl Jackson is
\nasked to pose for a picture or sign an autograph.<\/p>\n

No surprise there.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s as much a part of this place as the green jacket or Magnolia Lane.<\/p>\n

Jackson will be caddying in his 50th Masters this week, a link to a
\nsegregated past in which all the players were white and required to use black
\ncaddies who worked for the club.<\/p>\n

He grew up just a few miles away, \u201cright over that tree line,\u201d Jackson
\nsays, gazing toward the southwest from a spot beneath the famous oak tree next
\nto the clubhouse.<\/p>\n

Now, as he prepares to mark a half-century as a Masters caddie, he keeps
\nremembering all those guys who came before him, the African-Americans who grew
\nup and lived in tiny shotgun houses just like his in the Sand Hill section of
\nAugusta.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tend to keep thinking back to the old days,\u201d Jackson said Monday,
\nadorned in those familiar white coveralls that all Masters caddies must wear.
\n\u201cPappy Stokes. Iron Man. Those guys are just on my mind right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was only 14 when he carried the bag for Billy Burke in 1961. Jackson has
\nbeen back every year since then except one.<\/p>\n

Now 64, Jackson has long held the record for most Masters worked by a
\ncaddie. This one, though, is something special.<\/p>\n

\u201cFifty Masters is more than a lifetime,\u201d marveled Ben Crenshaw<\/a>, Jackson\u2019s
\nlongtime employer. \u201cA lot of blood, sweat and tears go into those 50 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackson knows he\u2019s unlikely to be caddying for another Masters champion. By
\nthe weekend, players such as defending champion Phil Mickelson<\/a> or Tiger Woods<\/a>
\nwill surely claim the spotlight.<\/p>\n

Mickelson comes into the year\u2019s first major as the clear favorite, having
\nmade 18 birdies over the final two rounds to win last week at Houston.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems that everyone has pretty much got Mickelson in the green jacket
\nSunday evening and there\u2019s not much use in turning up at this point,\u201d U.S. Open
\nchamp Graeme McDowell<\/a> said, grinning. \u201cHe\u2019s a great player around Augusta, and
\nif you finish ahead of him, you\u2019ve got a decent chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

But before all the attention turns to someone who could actually win the
\ntournament, let\u2019s honor someone who\u2019s spent so much time walking these historic
\ngrounds and \u201cknows this place like the back on his hand,\u201d according to
\nCrenshaw.<\/p>\n

Jackson\u2019s first employer was Burke, who closed out his career playing in a
\nwhite dress shirt and tie.<\/p>\n

But the caddie will forever be linked to Crenshaw.<\/p>\n

The Texan was a young stud trying to harness his erratic game when he first
\nhooked up with the 6-foot-5 Jackson in 1976. Their temperaments meshed perfectly
\n\u2014 Crenshaw, outgoing and a ball of emotions; the caddie, quiet and steady. The
\nresult was a runner-up finish and a rest-of-their-lives friendship.<\/p>\n

This will be their 35th Masters together, the only break coming in 2000 when
\nJackson was battling cancer. He beat the disease and intends to keep coming back
\nas long as his health holds and Crenshaw keeps coming back.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are so lucky to have come this far and shared so many things,\u201d
\nCrenshaw said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t have accomplished the things I\u2019ve accomplished (at
\nAugusta) without Carl.\u201d<\/p>\n

They worked together only one year on the Tour. Jackson had children to care
\nfor and didn\u2019t want to be away from home that often. Besides, the local
\nknowledge he had at Augusta wasn\u2019t so helpful at other courses, so it has been
\nlargely a once-a-year partnership.<\/p>\n

But, ohhhh, what a partnership it\u2019s been.<\/p>\n

With Jackson on the bag, Crenshaw was a perennial contender at Augusta
\nNational through the prime of his career, winning his first green jacket in 1984
\nand posting nine other top-10 finishes over a 16-year period.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of near misses, and some really fun times, and some painful times as
\nwell,\u201d Crenshaw said.<\/p>\n

Then, with his career in a downward spiral and mourning the death of mentor
\nHarvey Penick, Crenshaw teamed with Jackson for his most memorable triumph in
\n1995. A tip from the caddie helped Crenshaw get his swing straightened out on
\nthe practice range. After returning from Penick\u2019s funeral, Crenshaw put together
\nthree straight rounds in the 60s to beat Davis Love III<\/a> by a single stroke.<\/p>\n

The picture of Crenshaw\u2014bent over and crying his eyes out on the 18th
\ngreen, Jackson having walked up from behind to put his two large hands gently on
\nthe player\u2019s shoulders\u2014remains one of the most memorable in Masters history.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just happened,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cI was going somewhere else, and
\nsomething changed my mind. I turned around and there was Ben, boohooing.\u201d<\/p>\n

These days, Jackson runs a caddie program at the Alotian Golf Club near
\nLittle Rock, Ark., hoping to lure people of color into the sport.<\/p>\n

He was a pretty good golfer in his day, getting his handicap into the single
\ndigits. He might\u2019ve made it to the Tour himself with the right instruction and
\naccess to the best courses, and he certainly knows of other African-Americans
\nwho were even more skilled but never got the chance to advance beyond the caddie
\nranks.<\/p>\n

Times have changed, of course. Augusta National has black members. Tiger
\nWoods has won 14 major titles. The days of being forced to use club caddies
\nended nearly three decades ago.<\/p>\n

But there are still few African-Americans in the golf pipeline, something
\nthat Jackson hopes to change. The first rule of being a good caddie, he says, is
\nbeing a good golfer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re going to make suggestions, you\u2019ve got to have an understanding
\nof what you\u2019re trying to suggest,\u201d he said. \u201cI can\u2019t see myself making a
\nsuggestion to a surgeon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackson wants to help ensure the next Tiger Woods doesn\u2019t fall through the
\ncracks.<\/p>\n

He can think of no better way to honor those who came before him, like Pappy
\nand Iron Man.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey just adopted me,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cThey thought I had some instincts
\nfor the game, and they helped me bring them out. Those are the guys who did
\nit.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

Read the original:
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