Ben Crenshaw Presents Tommy Morrison With the Korn Ferry Rookie of the Year Award at the Austin Championship
The 22-year-old former Longhorn — 6-foot-9, five top-10s in his first six Korn Ferry starts, a PGA Tour card secured for 2027 — received the award Wednesday from the Austin resident and two-time Masters champion. This week at Barton Creek is his first PGA Tour start as a professional.
AUSTIN — Tommy Morrison first met Ben Crenshaw when he was 15, a talented junior who, by his own account, had little idea how accomplished the man in front of him was. '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.' On Wednesday at the Austin Championship, the two crossed paths again — this time with Crenshaw, the Austin resident, two-time Masters champion and World Golf Hall of Famer, presenting Morrison with the Korn Ferry Tour Rookie of the Year Award.
Morrison's rookie season made the award an easy call. After three and a half seasons at Texas, where he earned All-America honors twice and finished sixth in the 2026 PGA Tour University Ranking, the 22-year-old Dallas native 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 67.31 scoring average, climbed to No. 10 in the season-long points standings and secured a PGA Tour card for 2027.
Crenshaw pointed past the obvious — at 6-foot-9, Morrison is expected to become the tallest player ever to compete in a PGA Tour event — to the rest of the game. '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.' His advice was to keep learning and trust the process: 'I have every bit of confidence in you and your game.'
This week's Austin Championship is Morrison's next step, and familiar ground: he is playing on a sponsor exemption at Omni Barton Creek Resort's Fazio Canyons Course, a layout he estimates he played 30 to 40 times while at Texas — 'This was the only golf course that was open on Mondays, so Coach loved to come out here on Mondays,' he said — and where he has shot as low as 64. It is his first PGA Tour start as a professional and his third overall, and he is paired for the opening two rounds with Austin Smotherman, a frequent practice partner from their Dallas days.
