Larry Nelson

Larry Nelson

Born: September 10, 1947
Age: 77
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Biography

Larry Gene Nelson (born September 10, 1947) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour level.

Nelson was born in Fort Payne, Alabama and grew up in Acworth, Georgia, northwest of Atlanta. He didn't play the game as a child - atypical for a successful professional golfer - in high school he focused on basketball and baseball. Nelson took up golf at the age of 21 after he returned from serving in the infantry in Vietnam (Nelson was a 20-year-old newlywed when he was drafted into the U.S. Army). Nelson was first introduced to golf by Ken Hummel, a soldier and friend in his infantry unit, and Nelson carefully studied Ben Hogan's book The Five Fundamentals of Golf while learning how to play the game. He soon found that he had a talent for the game, breaking 100 the first time he played and 70 within nine months. He went on to graduate from Kennesaw Junior College in 1970 and turned professional the following year. He qualified for the PGA Tour at 27. His breakthrough year came in 1979, when he won twice and finished second on the money list to Tom Watson.

Nelson won 10 times on the PGA Tour, including three major championships. He earned his first major title at the 1981 PGA Championship, which he won by four strokes. In 1983 he was victorious at the U.S. Open at Oakmont, coming from seven behind at the half-way point to defeat Tom Watson by a single shot. Nelson scored a U.S. Open record 65-67 over the last 36 holes at the difficult Oakmont course, which broke a 51-year Open record established by Gene Sarazen. Nelson's 10 under par 132 record score has yet to be equaled. In 1987 he finished tied with Lanny Wadkins after the regulation 72 holes of PGA Championship, and won the title with a par at the first playoff hole.

Nelson played on the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 1979, 1981, and 1987. His record of 9-3-1 is one of the best since the event became USA v Europe in 1979; it had been a perfect 9-0-0 after the first two events. He also won four tournaments on the Japan Golf Tour.

Since turning 50 in 1997 Nelson has had a successful Champions Tour career, winning 19 times, although he has not won a senior major. He was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in April 2006 and inducted in October 2006. In 2011, Nelson received the PGA Distinguished Service Award from the PGA of America. The award "honors outstanding individuals who display leadership and humanitarian qualities, including integrity, sportsmanship and enthusiasm for the game of golf".

Nelson is also active in golf course design.

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Professional wins (42)

PGA Tour wins (10)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of victory Runner(s)-up
1 Mar 11, 1979 Jackie Gleason-Inverrary Classic −14 (67-69-67-71=274) 3 strokes Grier Jones
2 Jul 8, 1979 Western Open −2 (71-69-70-76=286) Playoff Ben Crenshaw
3 Jun 8, 1980 Atlanta Classic −18 (66-69-68-67=270) 7 strokes Andy Bean, Don Pooley
4 Apr 5, 1981 Greater Greensboro Open −7 (69-68-69-75=281) Playoff Mark Hayes
5 Aug 9, 1981 PGA Championship −7 (70-66-66-71=273) 4 strokes Fuzzy Zoeller
6 Jun 19, 1983 U.S. Open −4 (75-73-65-67=280) 1 stroke Tom Watson
7 Oct 21, 1984 Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic −22 (66-66-64-70=266) 1 stroke Hubert Green
8 Aug 9, 1987 PGA Championship (2) −1 (70-72-73-72=287) Playoff Lanny Wadkins
9 Oct 18, 1987 Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic (2) −20 (68-69-68-63=268) 1 stroke Morris Hatalsky, Mark O'Meara
10 Jun 26, 1988 Georgia-Pacific Atlanta Golf Classic (2) −20 (63-66-66-73=268) 1 stroke Chip Beck

PGA Tour playoff record (3-2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1979 Danny Thomas Memphis Classic Gil Morgan Lost to birdie on second extra hole
2 1979 Western Open Ben Crenshaw Won with birdie on first extra hole
3 1981 Greater Greensboro Open Mark Hayes Won with birdie on second extra hole
4 1987 PGA Championship Lanny Wadkins Won with par on first extra hole
5 1989 GTE Byron Nelson Classic Jodie Mudd Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Japan Golf Tour wins (4)

  • 1980 Tokai Classic
  • 1983 Dunlop International Open
  • 1989 Suntory Open
  • 1991 Dunlop Phoenix

Other wins (2)

  • 1978 Georgia Open
  • 1988 PGA Grand Slam of Golf (United States - unofficial event)

Champions Tour wins (19)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 Feb 22, 1998 American Express Invitational −13 (63-69-71=203) 4 strokes Dave Stockton
2 May 31, 1998 Pittsburgh Senior Classic −12 (65-65-74=204) 5 strokes Bob Duval
3 Sep 27, 1998 Boone Valley Classic −16 (70-65-65=200) 2 strokes Graham Marsh
4 Feb 21, 1999 GTE Classic −8 (70-68-67=205) 2 strokes Bruce Fleisher
5 May 2, 1999 Bruno's Memorial Classic −11 (70-67-68=205) 1 stroke Dana Quigley
6 Apr 23, 2000 Las Vegas Senior Classic −19 (67-66-64=197) 5 strokes Bruce Fleisher Hale Irwin
7 May 28, 2000 Boone Valley Classic −16 (66-66-68=200) 3 strokes Tom Watson
8 Aug 27, 2000 FleetBoston Classic −13 (67-70-66=203) 4 strokes Jim Thorpe
9 Sep 3, 2000 Foremost Insurance Championship −18 (66-69-63=198) 3 strokes Dave Stockton
10 Sep 24, 2000 Bank One Senior Championship −13 (67-68-68=203) 6 strokes Bill Brask, Jim Thorpe
11 Oct 1, 2000 Vantage Championship −12 (66-63-69=198) Playoff Jim Dent, Gil Morgan
12 Jan 24, 2001 MasterCard Championship −19 (67-64-66=197) 1 stroke Jim Thorpe
13 Feb 8, 2001 Royal Caribbean Classic 29 pts (6-15-8=29) 1 point Vicente Fernández
14 Jun 24, 2001 FleetBoston Classic −15 (65-69-67=201) 3 strokes Bruce Fleisher
15 Jul 8, 2001 Farmers Charity Classic −14 (67-67-68=202) 1 stroke Jim Ahern
16 Oct 21, 2001 SBC Championship −17 (67-69-63=199) 2 strokes Bob Gilder, Gary McCord
17 Sep 14, 2003 Constellation Energy Classic −9 (67-70-70=207) 2 strokes Jim Dent, Doug Tewell
18 May 9, 2004 FedEx Kinko's Classic −7 (73-69-67=209) 1 stroke Bruce Lietzke
19 Oct 10, 2004 Administaff Small Business Classic −14 (68-70-64=202) Playoff Hale Irwin

Champions Tour playoff record (2-3)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1998 Cadillac NFL Golf Classic Jim Colbert, Bob Dickson Dickson won with birdie on first extra hole
2 1998 Kroger Senior Classic Hugh Baiocchi, Bob Charles
Frank Conner, Bruce Summerhays
Baiocchi won with birdie on second extra hole
3 2000 The Countrywide Tradition Tom Kite, Tom Watson Kite won with birdie on sixth extra hole
Nelson eliminated with par on second hole
4 2000 Vantage Championship Jim Dent, Gil Morgan Nelson won with birdie on sixth extra hole
Dent eliminated with birdie on first hole
5 2004 Administaff Small Business Classic Hale Irwin Won with birdie on first extra hole

Other senior wins (7)

  • 1998 Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (with Hale Irwin and Gil Morgan)
  • 1999 Chrysler Senior Match Play Challenge
  • 2004 Office Depot Father/Son Challenge (with son Drew)
  • 2007 Del Webb Father/Son Challenge (with son Josh)
  • 2008 Del Webb Father/Son Challenge (with son Drew)
  • 2015 Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf (Legends division, with Bruce Fleisher)
  • 2016 Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf (Legends division, with Bruce Fleisher)

Major championships

Wins (3)

Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
1981 PGA Championship 4 shot lead −7 (70-66-66-71=273) 4 strokes Fuzzy Zoeller
1983 U.S. Open 1 shot deficit −4 (75-73-65-67=280) 1 stroke Tom Watson
1987 PGA Championship 3 shot deficit −1 (70-72-73-72=287) Playoff1 Lanny Wadkins

1Defeated Wadkins with a par on the first extra hole.

Results timeline

Tournament 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament DNP DNP DNP T31
U.S. Open T21 T54 CUT T4
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship T34 T54 T12 T28
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament T6 CUT T7 CUT 5 T36 T36 CUT T33 CUT
U.S. Open T60 T20 T19 1 CUT T39 T35 CUT T62 T13
The Open Championship T12 DNP T32 T53 CUT T55 CUT T48 T13 CUT
PGA Championship CUT 1 CUT T36 CUT T23 CUT 1 T38 T46
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament 48 55 DQ DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
U.S. Open T14 T3 CUT T46 CUT DNP DNP CUT DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship CUT CUT T28 T56 CUT CUT WD T71 DNP CUT
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Masters Tournament DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP CUT CUT DNP DNP DNP CUT DNP DNP DNP
Tournament 2010 2011
Masters Tournament DNP DNP
U.S. Open DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP CUT

DNP = did not play
DQ = disqualified
WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 1 3 3 14 9
U.S. Open 1 0 1 3 3 8 20 14
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 2 9 6
PGA Championship 2 0 0 2 2 4 27 13
Totals 3 0 1 6 8 17 70 42
  • Most consecutive cuts made - 7 (1978 PGA - 1980 Open Championship)
  • Longest streak of top-10s - 2 (1981 PGA - 1982 Masters)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]


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