Nelson retired officially at the age of thirty-four—much earlier than his peers Hogan and Sneed, both of whom were born in the same year as Nelson—to become a rancher, buying a ranch at Roanoke, Texas. He also gave paid golf exhibitions, later became a television golf commentator during the s and s, and regularly made appearances at PGA events.
He was influential in the careers of such golfers as Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus. Nelson published his memoirs How I Played the Game in , in addition to authoring or co-authoring eleven books. Nelson was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in In he married Peggy Simmons, and the couple were together until his death at their Roanoke, Texas, home on September 26, Nelson had no children. He was affiliated with the Church of Christ.
He was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal on October 16, , only weeks after his death. The legislation was introduced in April of that year. Dallas Morning News , September 27, New York Times , June 27, The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style , 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry.
Essential Tom Watson. No Recent Photo Activity from. Odds and Lines are subject to change See Odds Leaderboard. Season Career Tournament Majors. Season Course. No additional profile information available. Byron Nelson Full Name. February 04, Birthday. Waxahachie, Texas Birthplace. Wife, Louise deceased ; Wife, Peggy Family.
Indu Hall of Fame. Open Championship Personal Known for his kindness and professional conduct both on and off the course. His wife, Louise, died from complications of a stroke in in the 50th year of their marriage. Met his second wife, Peggy, when she volunteered at a celebrity golf tournament he attended in Dayton, Ohio, the same year Louise died. Worked as an analyst during the s and s for ABC Sports on the network's golf telecasts.
The USGA's swing robot that tests and compares golf manufacturers' clubs is nicknamed the Iron Byron in honor of his career and the consistency of his golf swing. Also has a high school in the Northwest Independent School District named for him. Authored more than a dozen books, including How I Played the Game. William D. Richardson Award: Received the William D. Richardson Award from the Golf Writers Association of American for his outstanding contributions to golf.
His name remains on the Texas event to this day. Shot a first-round 75 at Colonial CC before withdrawing. Captained the U. Ryder Cup: Captained the U. Was forced to reorganize his roster when Johnny Pott had to withdraw because of an injury he sustained early in the week and when qualifier Ken Venturi missed the tournament because of hand injuries.
Masters Tournament: Missed the cut at the Masters Tournament, only the second time he had missed the cut at Augusta National. Masters Tournament: T15 at the Masters. Shot rounds of to miss the weekend.
Fell by two strokes to Fred Hawkins. Masters Tournament: Was T10 at the Masters. The win in France was also his last official tournament victory. Masters Tournament: Was T12 at the Masters. Thunderbird Invitational: Opened in Palm Springs, at the Thunderbird Invitational but withdrew with an injury that doctors later determined to be a separated shoulder. Masters Tournament: At the Masters Tournament, he withdrew after 54 holes. Masters Tournament: Added top 10 at the Masters T8.
He also missed the hole cut at the Bing Crosby Pro-Am. Masters Tournament: At the Masters, was T8 for a second consecutive year. The withdrawl was important because it ended his cuts-made streak at , a TOUR record that stood until Masters Tournament: Finished T8 at the Masters. Masters Tournament: Made just one cut but despite the limited action just missed earning his third Masters title.
Opened with a 3-under 69 to share the first-round lead with Jimmy Demaret. Was tied for second after the second and third rounds and began the final round three strokes behind Demaret. Shot a final-round 70 at Augusta National to Demaret's 71 to fall by two. Although he qualified as a member of the U. Ryder Cup squad, he couldn't play because of the war in Europe, which forced the cancellation of the tournament. Open Championship: His runner-up showings came at the U.
Open, where he squandered a one-stroke, 54 hole lead at Canterbury GC in Ohio. Players played the final 36 holes of regulation Sunday, and in his morning 18 he gave up a stroke when his caddie accidentally kicked his ball and officials imposed a penalty.
Snead dropped out after 18 holes, and Mangrum eventually prevailed by a stroke. San Antonio Texas Open: Third win of the season came at the Texas Open in San Antonio, where he again bested Hogan by five strokes and successfully defending his title in the process. He cruised to an eight-stroke win over Jimmy Demaret. Back in those days, weight training in golf would have been a laughable notion and players were not in nearly as good physical condition as they are in today.
However, what it to say he could not have still won several more tournaments and possibly another major or two during his early 40s? But we have to remember that although Hogan is thought of as a classic late-bloomer, he only began to experience the type of success that led him to be considered one of the all-time greats after Nelson had walked away from the game. Now, Ben Hogan is without question one of the greatest golfers of all time, and was quite possibly the greatest ball striker to have ever lived, so it would be ludicrous to think that Hogan would not have still experienced a tremendous amount of success had Nelson not retired.
Either way, it is extremely probable that had he not retired at the age of 34, Nelson could have held the record for all-time PGA Tour wins and could quite possibly have won 10 majors. They did not receive millions of dollars for wearing a hat with a particular logo on it. They did not become instant millionaires for playing four great rounds of golf, and they certainly did not enjoy the luxury of travelling from one tournament to another on gulfstream jets.
A professional golfer was considered to be, in essence, a type of professional gambler who would gamble his golfing ability in order to pay the mortgage and put food on the table. But, had Nelson not walked away from the game at such a young age, there is a very good chance that Nelson could have won 10 majors and somewhere in the vicinity of 90 PGA Tour events, thus all but ensuring that his name would appear a lot closer to the top of any list of the greatest golfers to have ever played the game.
0コメント