Age: 77
Larry Nelson
Age: 77
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.
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)