At 15 years old, Tommy Morrison had little appreciation for just how accomplished Ben Crenshaw was.
When Morrison first met the two-time Masters champion and World Golf Hall of Famer, he was simply a talented junior golfer with dreams of following in the footsteps of Texas golf greats.
“I probably had no idea how accomplished he was in the game of golf,” Morrison recalled. “I've come to learn that now, but it was a thrill.”
Seven years later, their paths crossed again, this time under very different circumstances.
On Wednesday at the Austin Championship, Crenshaw, a local resident and three-time NCAA individual champion at University of Texas, stood alongside the 22-year-old Dallas native to present him with the Korn Ferry Tour Rookie of the Year
Award, a fitting scene featuring a Texas golf legend recognizing one of the state's brightest emerging stars.
Morrison has given the golf world plenty of reasons to take notice.
After three-and-a-half seasons at Texas under coach John Fields, he established himself as one of the nation's top collegiate players. Morrison earned All-America honors twice, was second-team All-America in 2025 and third-team in 2026, and finished sixth in the 2026 PGA Tour University Ranking.
That finish earned him Korn Ferry Tour membership beginning with the OccuNet Classic in June.
What happened next exceeded even the highest expectations.
Morrison posted five top-10 finishes in his first six Korn Ferry Tour starts, including a victory at the Evans Scholars Invitational. In only 11 starts, he led the developmental circuit with a scoring average of 67.31, climbed to No. 10 in the season-long point standings and secured a PGA Tour card for 2027.
Crenshaw has watched the young golfer, known simply as Big Tommy by friends for his towering height, develop and believes the rookie's success is only the beginning.
“I'll tell you what, this guy is very special, very special,” Crenshaw said. “He's obviously tall, he can see everything that's going on down here. But he's got an exceptional touch, a well-rounded game.”
While Morrison's 6-foot-9 frame immediately draws attention, Crenshaw pointed to the parts of his game that don't show up on a measuring tape. The transition to professional golf, Crenshaw said, requires far more than talent. Every week presents a different golf course, different conditions and different challenges.
“Making a good score when you're not playing well is a big part of it,” Crenshaw said.
His advice to Morrison was simple: keep learning, keep looking forward and trust the process.
“I have every bit of confidence in you and your game,” Crenshaw said. “You've got a really well-rounded game.”
This week's Austin Championship provides another significant step in Morrison's journey. Competing on a sponsor exemption at Omni Barton Creek Resort's Fazio Canyons Course, Morrison arrives with a level of familiarity few players in the field can match. During his time at Texas, he estimates he played the layout 30 to 40 times.
“This was the only golf course that was open on Mondays, so Coach loved to come out here on Mondays,” Morrison said. “We played out here in the winter a lot when it was cold and windy and it was a really tough challenge.”
The course clearly suits his eye. Morrison said he has shot as low as 64 there.
This week also marks his first PGA Tour start as a professional and third overall. At 6-foot-9, he is expected to become the tallest player ever to compete in a PGA Tour event. Height has followed Morrison throughout his life.
“Everyone told me I should go play football,” he said.
Morrison played a little of everything but eventually golf won out. The turning point came in 2017 when Morrison captured the U.S. Kids World Championship for 12-year-olds at Pinehurst No. 8. His mother, Alison, noticed an immediate change during the flight home.
“I saw something different in his eyes,” she said. “After that, he didn't want to go to basketball practice. He wanted to practice golf until dark.”
From there, the milestones piled up. Morrison teamed with former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo at the 2023 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship, became the first American to win the European Amateur Championship in 2024 and helped the United States capture the Walker Cup in 2025.
Now he finds himself preparing for the next chapter of a career that has accelerated in a hurry.
Among those who have watched the progression firsthand is Austin Smotherman, who frequently practiced with Morrison at Trinity Forest in Dallas. The two are paired together for the opening two rounds this week.
“He works with Corey Lundberg, who teaches at the same facility as my coach, Cameron McCormick. He was stacking up Korn Ferry (successes) on his great weeks,” Smotherman said.
For Morrison, receiving Rookie of the Year honors from Crenshaw was another reminder of how far he has come in a short time.
The teenager who once met a Texas golf icon without fully understanding his legacy is now one of the most promising young players in professional golf.
And this time, Ben Crenshaw knows exactly who Tommy Morrison is.
Cameron Jourdan is an assistant editor of Golfweek, covering college and amateur golf, the PGA Tour and plenty more. Follow Cameron on X/Twitter (@Cam_Jourdan) or Instagram (@GolfweekJourdan).
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Ben Crenshaw honors Korn Ferry Rookie of the Year Tommy Morrison at Austin Championship
