Larry Nelson


Larry Gene Nelson 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 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 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 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.
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. 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 and created the to help golfers condition and improve their muscle memory.

Professional wins (41)

PGA Tour wins (10)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1Mar 11, 1979Jackie Gleason-Inverrary Classic−14 3 strokes Grier Jones
2Jul 8, 1979Western Open−2 Playoff Ben Crenshaw
3Jun 8, 1980Atlanta Classic−18 7 strokes Andy Bean, Don Pooley
4Apr 5, 1981Greater Greensboro Open−7 Playoff Mark Hayes
5Aug 9, 1981PGA Championship−7 4 strokes Fuzzy Zoeller
6Jun 19, 1983U.S. Open−4 1 stroke Tom Watson
7Oct 21, 1984Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic−22 1 stroke Hubert Green
8Aug 9, 1987PGA Championship −1 Playoff Lanny Wadkins
9Oct 18, 1987Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic −20 1 stroke Morris Hatalsky, Mark O'Meara
10Jun 26, 1988Georgia-Pacific Atlanta Golf Classic −20 1 stroke Chip Beck

PGA Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11979Danny Thomas Memphis Classic Gil MorganLost to birdie on second extra hole
21979Western Open Ben CrenshawWon with birdie on first extra hole
31981Greater Greensboro Open Mark HayesWon with birdie on second extra hole
41987PGA Championship Lanny WadkinsWon with par on first extra hole
51989GTE Byron Nelson Classic Jodie MuddLost to birdie on first extra hole

Japan Golf Tour wins (4)

*Note: The 1983 Dunlop International Open was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.
Japan Golf Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11985Suntory Open Tateo OzakiLost to par on second extra hole
21989Suntory Open Saburo FujikiWon with birdie on first extra hole
31991Dunlop 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 playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11998Cadillac NFL Golf Classic Jim Colbert, Bob DicksonDickson won with birdie on first extra hole
21998Kroger Senior Classic Hugh Baiocchi, Bob Charles
Frank Conner, Bruce Summerhays		Baiocchi won with birdie on second extra hole
32000The Countrywide Tradition Tom Kite, Tom WatsonKite won with birdie on sixth extra hole
Nelson eliminated with par on second hole
42000Vantage Championship Jim Dent, Gil MorganNelson won with birdie on sixth extra hole
Dent eliminated with birdie on first hole
52004Administaff Small Business Classic Hale IrwinWon with birdie on first extra hole

Other senior wins (6)

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11987Nissan-Mobil New Zealand Open Ronan RaffertyLost to par on seventh extra hole

Major championships

Wins (3)

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

Results timeline

CUT = missed the halfway cut

DQ = disqualified

WD = withdrew

"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

CUT = missed the halfway cut

DQ = disqualified

"T" indicates a tie for a place

U.S. national team appearances