Larry Nelson

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**Larry Nelson**
Personal Information
Birth	September 10, 1947 (1947-09-10) (age 60) Fort Payne, Alabama, U.S.
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight	150 lb (68 kg)
Nationality	United States
College	Kennesaw Junior College
Career
Turned Pro	1971
Current tour	Champions Tour
Professional wins	39 (PGA Tour: 10, Champions Tour: 19, Other: 10)
Best Results in Major Championships Wins: 3
Masters	5th: 1984
U.S. Open	Won 1983
British Open	T12: 1980
PGA Championship	Won 1981, 1987
Awards
World Golf Hall of Fame	2006

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 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)[1] 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 in the money list to Tom Watson.

Nelson won ten times on the PGA Tour, of which three, a high proportion, were major championships. His major first was 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, and scoring an outstanding 10-under 132 for the last 36 holes to beat Tom Watson by one. 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. He also won four tournaments on the Japan Golf Tour.

Since turning fifty in 1997 Nelson has had a successful Champions Tour career, although he has not won a senior major. He is also active in golf course design. He was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in April 2006 [2] and inducted in October 2006.

1 Professional wins (39)
2 Major Championships
- 2.1 Wins (3)
- 2.2 Results timeline
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Professional wins (39)

[edit] PGA Tour wins (10)

1979 (2) Jackie Gleason-Inverrary Classic, Western Open
1980 (1) Atlanta Classic
1981 (2) Greater Greensboro Open, PGA Championship
1983 (1) U.S. Open
1984 (1) Walt Disney World Golf Classic
1987 (2) PGA Championship, Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic
1988 (1) Georgia-Pacific Atlanta Golf Classic

Major championships are shown in bold.

[edit] Japan Golf Tour wins (4)

[edit] Other wins (2)

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

[edit] Champions Tour wins (19)

[edit] Other senior wins (4)

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)

[edit] Major Championships

[edit] Wins (3)

Year	Championship	Winning Score	Margin	Runner Up
1981	PGA Championship	-7 (70-66-66-71=273)	4 strokes	Fuzzy Zoeller
1983	U.S. Open	-4 (75-73-65-67=280)	1 stroke	Tom Watson
1987	PGA Championship (2)	-1 (70-72-73-72=287)	Playoff¹	Lanny Wadkins

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

[edit] Results timeline

Tournament	1976	1977	1978	1979
The Masters	DNP	DNP	DNP	T31
U.S. Open	T21	T54	CUT	T4
British Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	T34	T54	T12	T28

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
The Masters	T6	CUT	T7	CUT	5	T36	T36	CUT	T33	CUT
U.S. Open	T60	T20	T19	1	CUT	T39	T35	CUT	T62	T13
British Open	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
The Masters	48	55	DQ	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	T14	T3	CUT	T46	CUT	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP	DNP
British Open	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
The Masters	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
British Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	CUT	CUT	DNP	DNP	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.