Understanding Bruce Crampton
Nice letter on Bill Fields' Bruce Crampton Backspin from former senior tour caddie Quinn Jerriey, now in Florida. Crampton won 20 times on that tour, seven as a rookie. Fields wrote, in part:
Of his stern expression, Crampton once said, "I just look like I'm going to chew somebody's ass out."
Once in a while, he did.
But existing beneath the outward edge was a battle with depression, made worse by the tournament stress...
Writes Jerriey:
I was wondering when you would locate Bruce Crampton for your section.Bruce was the best player of that era never to win a major. No one ever bothers to look at who finished second. How many times did Bruce finish second besides Jack?
I had the pleasure to caddie for Bruce on the Senior Tour for two years. He was misunderstood. When he walked on the range, this was like his day ?at the office? and it was just getting started. It was ?work?. No conversation except the business at hand. He had a very strong work ethic. He would work on his game after his round until dark. He played to win for both he and his caddie. He apologized when he handed you a lower check than others.
The one thing that many people didn?t know is that he always had a ?bag? full of jokes that he would share at the Pro Am?s with corporate sponsors and other amateurs playing with him. He enjoyed those rounds!
--Bob Carney
