SIDELINES : Crenshaw’s Putter Disappears

Little Ben is missing.

Ben Crenshaw’s putter, a career-long companion, is lost, strayed or stolen.

“It has tremendous sentimental value,” Crenshaw said of the club that has become his trademark on the PGA Tour.

Crenshaw was given the club by his father, Charlie, who named it “Little Ben.” Crenshaw was 15 at the time. With that club, he won three NCAA championships at the University of Texas. He won 13 PGA Tour events with it and the 1984 Masters.

“It’s like losing an old friend,” said Crenshaw, long noted among his peers as one of the finest putters in the history of the game.

Crenshaw said he became aware the club was missing last Saturday at his home in Austin, Tex. He had last seen it the previous Sunday after the Doral tournament in Miami.

The zipper to the bag cover was broken. The putter was the only club missing.