Larry Nelson

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.

Larry Nelson
Personal information
Full nameLarry Gene Nelson
Born (1947-09-10) September 10, 1947
Fort Payne, Alabama
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight150 lb (68 kg; 11 st)
Nationality United States
ResidenceMarietta, Georgia
Career
CollegeKennesaw Junior College
Turned professional1971
Current tour(s)Champions Tour
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Professional wins41
Highest ranking12 (July 17, 1988)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour10
European Tour3
Japan Golf Tour4
PGA Tour Champions19 (tied 10th all time)
Other8
Best results in major championships
(wins: 3)
Masters Tournament5th: 1984
PGA ChampionshipWon: 1981, 1987
U.S. OpenWon: 1983
The Open ChampionshipT12: 1980
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame2006 (member page)

Nelson was born in Fort Payne, Alabama and grew up in Acworth, Georgia, northwest of Atlanta. He did not 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).[2] 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.[3] He soon discovered that he had a talent for the game, breaking 100 the first time he played and 70 within nine months. Nelson went on to graduate from Kennesaw Junior College in 1970 and turned professional the following year. He qualified for the PGA Tour at 27. Nelson's 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, Nelson 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. His 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.[4]

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.

Nelson also had great success internationally. He won four tournaments on the Japan Golf Tour. Nelson also finished runner-up at the 1982 Dunlop Phoenix Tournament and the 1987 Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters. In addition he finished runner-up at the PGA Tour of Australasia's 1987 New Zealand Open, losing to Northern Ireland's Ronan Rafferty in a playoff.

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.[2] 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".[5]

Nelson is also active in golf course design and created the LagRx Swing Trainer to help golfers condition and improve their muscle memory.

Professional wins (41)

PGA Tour wins (10)
Legend
Major championships (3)
Other PGA Tour (7)
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.YearTournamentOpponentResult
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)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 Oct 12, 1980 Tokai Classic −14 (72-69-66-67=274) 1 stroke Yutaka Hagawa
2 Apr 24, 1983 Dunlop International Open −12 (67-65-69=201)* 1 stroke Masahiro Kuramoto
3 Sep 10, 1989 Suntory Open −12 (69-67-70-70=276) Playoff Saburo Fujiki
4 Nov 24, 1991 Dunlop Phoenix Tournament −12 (70-71-67-68=276) Playoff Isao Aoki, Seve Ballesteros,
Jay Don Blake

*Note: The 1983 Dunlop International Open was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.

Japan Golf Tour playoff record (2–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 1985 Suntory Open Tateo Ozaki Lost to par on second extra hole
2 1989 Suntory Open Saburo Fujiki Won with birdie on first extra hole
3 1991 Dunlop Phoenix Tournament Isao Aoki, Seve Ballesteros,
Jay Don Blake		 Won with par on fourth extra hole
Ballesteros eliminated by birdie on third hole
Blake eliminated by par on first hole

Other wins (2)

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 (2) −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 (2) −15 (65-69-67=201) 3 strokes Bruce Fleisher
15 Jul 8, 2001 Farmers Charity Classic (2) −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.YearTournamentOpponent(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 (6)

Playoff record

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 1987 Nissan-Mobil New Zealand Open Ronan Rafferty Lost to par on seventh extra hole

Major championships

Wins (3)
YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunner-up
1981PGA Championship4 shot lead−7 (70-66-66-71=273)4 strokes Fuzzy Zoeller
1983U.S. Open1 shot deficit−4 (75-73-65-67=280)1 stroke Tom Watson
1987PGA Championship (2)3 shot deficit−1 (70-72-73-72=287)Playoff1 Lanny Wadkins

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

Results timeline
Tournament1976197719781979
Masters Tournament T31
U.S. Open T21 T54 CUT T4
The Open Championship
PGA Championship T34 T54 T12 T28
Tournament1980198119821983198419851986198719881989
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 T32 T53 CUT T56 CUT T48 T13 CUT
PGA Championship CUT 1 CUT T36 CUT T23 CUT 1 T38 T46
Tournament1990199119921993199419951996199719981999
Masters Tournament 48 55 DQ
U.S. Open T14 T3 CUT T46 CUT CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship CUT CUT T28 T56 CUT CUT WD T71 CUT
Tournament2000200120022003200420052006200720082009
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship CUT CUT CUT
Tournament20102011
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship CUT
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut (3rd round cut in 1984 Open Championship)
DQ = disqualified
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary
TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament000133149
U.S. Open1013382014
The Open Championship00000296
PGA Championship2002242713
Totals30168177042
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (1978 PGA – 1980 Open Championship)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1981 PGA – 1982 Masters)

Results in The Players Championship
Tournament 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
The Players Championship CUT T72 T39 T8 T4 T20 DQ CUT T10 CUT T62 CUT CUT CUT CUT T59
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998
The Players Championship T16 T23 CUT CUT T55 CUT T62 CUT CUT
  Top 10

CUT = missed the halfway cut
DQ = disqualified
"T" indicates a tie for a place

U.S. national team appearances
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See also

References
  1. "Week 29 1988 Ending 17 Jul 1988" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  2. "World Golf Hall of Fame member bio". Retrieved November 15, 2013.
  3. Reinhard, Paul (June 29, 2000). "Quiet Nelson Set To Make Some Noise". The Morning Call.
  4. "Golf Major Championships". Retrieved November 15, 2013.
  5. "Larry Nelson to receive award from PGA". ESPN. Associated Press. April 13, 2011.
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