Posted 4/14/03 9:57 am ET

Caddies still feel sting

Jackson comforts Crenshaw who was overcome with emotion after winning the 1995 Masters Tournament, weeks after his mentor, Harvey Pinnock died. File/AugustaChronicle

By David Westin
The Augusta Chronicle

Twenty years ago, a Masters Tournament tradition died, and it died hard.

Even today, hard feelings linger.

For 46 years, Masters participants had to use Augusta National Golf Club caddies.

That tradition, which started with the first Masters in 1934, became a part of history at the 1983 Masters.

With the restriction lifted, almost every U.S. professional in the Masters in 1983 elected to bring his own caddie. Only Ben Crenshaw, Larry Nelson and Bruce Lietzke used Augusta National caddies.

Crenshaw still has the Augusta National caddie he hired in 1976.

He's Carl Jackson, who's now 56 and worked his first Masters in 1961, when he was 14 years old.

Jackson remembers the 1983 Masters like it was yesterday.

"Twenty years," Jackson said, drawing out the words. "It doesn't seem like 20 years. Until someone mentioned it, I didn't realize it."

Ben Crenshaw works with his caddie, Carl Jackson, on the driving range at Augusta National after finishing the first round. Rob Carr/AugustaChronicle

Jackson says the caddies who lost their lucrative Masters bags 20 years ago "have gotten over it."

Others aren't so sure.

"There's still a little bitterness," said Edward White, who, beginning in 1963, worked 27 Masters as an Augusta National caddie.

White was one of the three Augusta National caddies who worked the 1983 Masters. He was on Larry Nelson's bag.

"You worked for the whole year to caddie in the Masters," White said. "That's the time you felt like you're going to make some money. You have a chance to win it. Ain't but one person can win it, but you had a chance to win it."

Bringing in what Augusta National caddies viewed as outsiders to work the tournament, "was a letdown, no doubt about that," White said. "It was a big thing for us. It was our tournament. They had their tournaments out on the road. This was our tournament. What could you do? I kind of saw it coming."

The change came about in part because some caddies showed up late for the completion of a rain-suspended round in the 1982 Masters. Play picked up at 7:30 in the morning, butsome caddies thought the round had been canceled and showed up at the previous day's starting time.

"I don't know what the caddies were thinking about when they didn't show up early the next morning," Jackson said. "Practically the whole caddie house didn't show up. I don't know how that could have happened.

"A few straggled in," he said. "I guess they eventually made it on time and made their tee time, but the players were good and hot then. Clubs, bags and gloves were wet. They were done. There were a few players that wanted to bring in their tour caddies anyway, so that was the final nail in the coffin. To me, it was a sad day."

"There were a lot of good caddies at Augusta, but they showed up late once too often, and that did it," Bruce Edwards said.

Jackson waits for Crenshaw to arrive on the driving range. The caddie worked his first Masters Tournament when he was 14. Chris Thelen/AugustaChronicle

Edwards has been Tom Watson's caddie since 1973, with the exception of 1989-92, when he worked for Greg Norman.

There was tension in the air in 1983, Edwards said, when the tour caddies started working the Masters.

"(Augusta National caddies) weren't real happy that we took their one-week jobs away," Edwards said. "But on the other side of the coin, this is what we do every week. I'd like to think I knew Tom a lot better than that guy he had for a week. I felt sorry for them, but that's the way it goes. There was animosity, I'll leave it at that. They weren't happy."

Watson was one of the players who pushed for the lifting of the ban on tour caddies, even before the 1982 incident.

"The change was coming, and they didn't accept the change," Richard Hansberry said.