Activities Sports & Athletics 1984 Masters Tournament: A Victory Inspired By a 'Ghost' Print Ben Crenshaw hits a drive during the 1984 Masters Tournament. David Cannon/Getty Images Sports & Athletics Golf Golf Tournaments Basics History Gear Golf Courses Famous Golfers Baseball Bicycling Billiards Bodybuilding Bowling Boxing Car Racing Cheerleading Extreme Sports Football Gymnastics Ice Hockey Martial Arts Professional Wrestling Skateboarding Skating Paintball Soccer Swimming & Diving Table Tennis Tennis Track & Field Volleyball Other Activities Learn More By Brent Kelley Brent Kelley Brent Kelley is an award-winning sports journalist and golf expert with over 30 years in print and online journalism. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on 11/04/19 Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite were linked together throughout their careers. They grew up in Austin, Texas, and were pupils of famed golf instructor Harvey Penick; they were teammates at the University of Texas and both continued to live in Austin as their professional careers took off. In the final round of the 1984 Masters, however, Crenshaw and Kite went in opposite directions. Kite was the third-round leader, Crenshaw two strokes behind. But Kite went out on Sunday and shot a shaky 75, falling back into a tie for sixth place. Crenshaw went out on Sunday and posted a 68, surging into the victory - the first of his two majors (both Masters wins). Crenshaw, who many believed was long overdue for a major, finally got one with the help of his famously accurate putter. Crenshaw rolled in what he later called "a preposterous putt," a winding 60-footer on the 10th hole, that was his third straight birdie in the final round. Crenshaw is a noted student of golf history, and there is a famous story about the 1984 Masters that demonstrates that knowledge. Crenshaw hit a perfect drive on the par-5 No. 13, and he was debating, with a three-stroke lead, whether to go for the green in two - hitting over water - or play it safe and lay up. As he stood over the ball, Crenshaw looked into the gallery and saw Billy Joe Patton. Patton was a great amateur golfer who led the 1954 Masters on the back nine of the final round. Patton was trying to become the first amateur to win The Masters, but on the par-5 holes of Augusta's back nine - the 13th and 15th - Patton went for the green in two and on both holes found water instead. He wound up in third place. Crenshaw, after seeing Patton in the gallery that day in 1984, decided to play it safe. He laid up, made par, and went on to a two-stroke victory. The kicker to the story? Billy Joe Patton did not attend the 1984 Masters. Whoever Crenshaw saw - or thought he saw, or imagined - in the gallery wasn't Patton; but Crenshaw thought it was, it reminded him of Patton's fate in 1954, and led him to play cautiously with the lead. Two-time Masters champ Tom Watson was runner-up. This was one of three times Watson finished second in a Masters. Mark Lye was the 36-hole leader and one shot behind leader Kite after three rounds, but shot 74 in the final round and finished five behind Crenshaw. Crenshaw also won the 1995 Masters. 1984 Masters Scores Results from the 1984 Masters golf tournament played at the par-72 Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. (a-amateur): Ben Crenshaw 67-72-70-68--277 $108,000 Tom Watson 74-67-69-69--279 $64,800 David Edwards 71-70-72-67--280 $34,800 Gil Morgan 73-71-69-67--280 $34,800 Larry Nelson 76-69-66-70--281 $24,000 Ronnie Black 71-74-69-68--282 $19,425 David Graham 69-70-70-73--282 $19,425 Tom Kite 70-68-69-75--282 $19,425 Mark Lye 69-66-73-74--282 $19,425 Fred Couples 71-73-67-72--283 $16,200 Rex Caldwell 71-71-69-73--284 $13,200 Wayne Levi 71-72-69-72--284 $13,200 Larry Mize 71-70-71-72--284 $13,200 Jack Renner 71-73-71-69--284 $13,200 Nick Faldo 70-69-70-76--285 $10,200 Raymond Floyd 70-73-70-72--285 $10,200 Calvin Peete 79-66-70-70--285 $10,200 Andy Bean 71-70-72-73--286 $8,400 Danny Edwards 72-71-70-73--286 $8,400 Jack Nicklaus 73-73-70-70--286 $8,400 Jay Haas 74-71-70-72--287 $6,475 Hale Irwin 70-71-74-72--287 $6,475 Gary Player 71-72-73-71--287 $6,475 Payne Stewart 76-69-68-74--287 $6,475 Isao Aoki 69-72-73-74--288 $4,680 George Archer 70-74-71-73--288 $4,680 a-Rick Fehr 72-71-70-75--288 Peter Jacobsen 72-70-75-71--288 $4,680 Greg Norman 75-71-73-69--288 $4,680 Tom Purtzer 69-74-76-69--288 $4,680 Bernhard Langer 73-70-74-72--289 $4,000 Fuzzy Zoeller 72-73-70-74--289 $4,000 Bruce Lietzke 75-70-75-70--290 $3,600 Tommy Nakajima 75-70-70-75--290 $3,600 Gary Koch 70-75-70-76--291 $3,100 Mark McCumber 73-71-74-73--291 $3,100 Dan Pohl 74-71-72-74--291 $3,100 Craig Stadler 74-70-74-73--291 $3,100 Tom Weiskopf 74-71-74-72--291 $3,100 Scott Simpson 72-70-76-74--292 $2,800 a-Robert Lewis Jr. 73-70-75-75--293 Andy North 76-68-80-69--293 $2,600 Lee Trevino 68-73-74-79--294 $2,500 Morris Hatalsky 73-71-75-76--295 $2,300 David Ogrin 73-73-76-74--296 $2,200 a-Clark Burroughs 72-74-75-76--297 Curtis Strange 71-74-75-77--297 $2,100 1983 Masters | 1985 Masters Return to list of Masters Winners By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. 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