Larry Nelson

{{Infobox golfer

| name = Larry Nelson

| image = Larry Nelson (cropped).jpg

| imagesize =

| caption = Nelson in 2023

| fullname = Larry Gene Nelson

| nickname =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1947|9|10|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Fort Payne, Alabama, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| height = {{height|ft=5|in=9}}

| weight = {{convert|150|lb|kg st|abbr=on}}

| nationality = {{USA}}

| residence = Marietta, Georgia, U.S.

| spouse =

| partner =

| children =

| college = Kennesaw Junior College

| yearpro = 1971

| retired =

| tour = Champions Tour

| extour = PGA Tour

| prowins = 41

| pgawins = 10

| eurowins = 3

| japwins = 4

| champwins = 19

| seneurowins =

| otherwins = 8

| majorwins = 3

| masters = 5th: 1984

| usopen = Won: 1983

| open = T12: 1980

| pga = Won: 1981, 1987

| wghofid = larry-nelson

| wghofyear = 2006

| award1 = Senior PGA Tour
money list winner

| year1 = 2000

| award2 = Senior PGA Tour
Player of the Year

| year2 = 2000

| awardssection =

}}

Larry Gene Nelson (born September 10, 1947) is an American professional golfer. He has won numerous tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour level.

Early life and amateur career

Nelson was born in Fort Payne, Alabama and grew up in Acworth, Georgia, northwest of Atlanta. He did not play the game growing up – atypical for a successful professional golfer – focusing 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).{{cite web |title=World Golf Hall of Fame member bio |url=http://www.worldgolfhalloffame.org/larry-nelson/ |access-date=November 15, 2013}} 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.{{cite news |title=Quiet Nelson Set To Make Some Noise |url=https://www.mcall.com/2000/06/29/quiet-nelson-set-to-make-some-noise/ |newspaper=The Morning Call |date=June 29, 2000 |first=Paul |last=Reinhard}} 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.

Professional career

In 1971, Nelson turned professional. He qualified for the PGA Tour at 1973 PGA Tour Qualifying School. 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 over Fuzzy Zoeller. In 1983, Nelson was victorious at the U.S. Open at Oakmont coming from seven behind at the halfway 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 the PGA Championship. He won the title with a par at the first playoff hole.{{cite web |title=Golf Major Championships |url=http://golfmajorchampionships.com/players?player=88 |access-date=November 15, 2013}}

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, 1985 Suntory Open, and the 1987 Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters in Japan. In addition, in 1987 he finished runner-up at the New Zealand Open on the PGA Tour of Australia. He lost to Northern Ireland's Ronan Rafferty in a sudden-death playoff.

Since turning 50 in 1997, Nelson has had a very successful Champions Tour career, winning 19 times.

Nelson is also active in golf course design and created the [https://web.archive.org/web/20170425205055/https://lagrx.com/ LagRx Swing Trainer] to help golfers condition and improve their muscle memory.

Honors

Nelson was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame 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".{{cite news |url=https://www.espn.com/golf/news/story?id=6344973 |title=Larry Nelson to receive award from PGA |work=ESPN |agency=Associated Press |date=April 13, 2011}}

Professional wins (41)

=PGA Tour wins (10)=

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

! Legend

style="background:#e5d1cb;"

| Major championships (3)

Other PGA Tour (7)

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

!No.

!Date

!Tournament

!Winning score

!Margin of
victory

!Runner(s)-up

align=center|1

|align=right|Mar 11, 1979

|Jackie Gleason-Inverrary Classic

|−14 (67-69-67-71=274)

|3 strokes

|{{flagicon|USA}} Grier Jones

align=center|2

|align=right|Jul 8, 1979

|Western Open

|−2 (71-69-70-76=286)

|Playoff

|{{flagicon|USA}} Ben Crenshaw

align=center|3

|align=right|Jun 8, 1980

|Atlanta Classic

|−18 (66-69-68-67=270)

|7 strokes

|{{flagicon|USA}} Andy Bean, {{flagicon|USA}} Don Pooley

align=center|4

|align=right|Apr 5, 1981

|Greater Greensboro Open

|−7 (69-68-69-75=281)

|Playoff

|{{flagicon|USA}} Mark Hayes

- style="background:#e5d1cb;"

|align=center|5

|align=right|Aug 9, 1981

|PGA Championship

|−7 (70-66-66-71=273)

|4 strokes

|{{flagicon|USA}} Fuzzy Zoeller

- style="background:#e5d1cb;"

|align=center|6

|align=right|Jun 19, 1983

|U.S. Open

|−4 (75-73-65-67=280)

|1 stroke

|{{flagicon|USA}} Tom Watson

align=center|7

|align=right|Oct 21, 1984

|Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic

|−22 (66-66-64-70=266)

|1 stroke

|{{flagicon|USA}} Hubert Green

- style="background:#e5d1cb;"

|align=center|8

|align=right|Aug 9, 1987

|PGA Championship (2)

|−1 (70-72-73-72=287)

|Playoff

|{{flagicon|USA}} Lanny Wadkins

align=center|9

|align=right|Oct 18, 1987

|Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic (2)

|−20 (68-69-68-63=268)

|1 stroke

|{{flagicon|USA}} Morris Hatalsky, {{flagicon|USA}} Mark O'Meara

align=center|10

|align=right|Jun 26, 1988

|Georgia-Pacific Atlanta Golf Classic (2)

|−20 (63-66-66-73=268)

|1 stroke

|{{flagicon|USA}} Chip Beck

PGA Tour playoff record (3–2)

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

!No.!!Year!!Tournament!!Opponent!!Result

style="background:#F2C1D1;"

|align=center|1

|1979

|Danny Thomas Memphis Classic

|{{flagicon|USA}} Gil Morgan

|Lost to birdie on second extra hole

style="background:#D0F0C0;"

|align=center|2

|1979

|Western Open

|{{flagicon|USA}} Ben Crenshaw

|Won with birdie on first extra hole

style="background:#D0F0C0;"

|align=center|3

|1981

|Greater Greensboro Open

|{{flagicon|USA}} Mark Hayes

|Won with birdie on second extra hole

style="background:#D0F0C0;"

|align=center|4

|1987

|PGA Championship

|{{flagicon|USA}} Lanny Wadkins

|Won with par on first extra hole

style="background:#F2C1D1;"

|align=center|5

|1989

|GTE Byron Nelson Classic

|{{flagicon|USA}} Jodie Mudd

|Lost to birdie on first extra hole

=PGA of Japan Tour wins (4)=

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

!No.

!Date

!Tournament

!Winning score

!Margin of
victory

!Runner(s)-up

align=center|1

|align=right|Oct 12, 1980

|Tokai Classic

|−14 (72-69-66-67=274)

|1 stroke

|{{flagicon|JPN|1870}} Yutaka Hagawa

align=center|2

|align=right|Apr 24, 1983

|Dunlop International Open¹

|−12 (67-65-69=201)*

|1 stroke

|{{flagicon|JPN|1870}} Masahiro Kuramoto

align=center|3

|align=right|Sep 10, 1989

|Suntory Open

|−12 (69-67-70-70=276)

|Playoff

|{{flagicon|JPN|1870}} Saburo Fujiki

align=center|4

|align=right|Nov 24, 1991

|Dunlop Phoenix Tournament

|−12 (70-71-67-68=276)

|Playoff

|{{flagicon|JPN|1870}} Isao Aoki, {{flagicon|ESP}} Seve Ballesteros,
{{flagicon|USA}} Jay Don Blake

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

¹Co-sanctioned by the Asia Golf Circuit

PGA of Japan Tour playoff record (2–1)

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

!No.!!Year!!Tournament!!Opponent(s)!!Result

style="background:#F2C1D1;"

|align=center|1

|1985

|Suntory Open

|{{flagicon|JPN|1870}} Tateo Ozaki

|Lost to par on second extra hole

style="background:#D0F0C0;"

|align=center|2

|1989

|Suntory Open

|{{flagicon|JPN|1870}} Saburo Fujiki

|Won with birdie on first extra hole

style="background:#D0F0C0;"

|align=center|3

|1991

|Dunlop Phoenix Tournament

|{{flagicon|JPN|1870}} Isao Aoki, {{flagicon|ESP}} Seve Ballesteros,
{{flagicon|USA}} 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)=

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

=Champions Tour wins (19)=

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

!No.

!Date

!Tournament

!Winning score

!Margin of
victory

!Runner(s)-up

align=center|1

|align=right|Feb 22, 1998

|American Express Invitational

|−13 (63-69-71=203)

|4 strokes

|{{flagicon|USA}} Dave Stockton

align=center|2

|align=right|May 31, 1998

|Pittsburgh Senior Classic

|−12 (65-65-74=204)

|5 strokes

|{{flagicon|USA}} Bob Duval

align=center|3

|align=right|Sep 27, 1998

|Boone Valley Classic

|−16 (70-65-65=200)

|2 strokes

|{{flagicon|AUS}} Graham Marsh

align=center|4

|align=right|Feb 21, 1999

|GTE Classic

|−8 (70-68-67=205)

|2 strokes

|{{flagicon|USA}} Bruce Fleisher

align=center|5

|align=right|May 2, 1999

|Bruno's Memorial Classic

|−11 (70-67-68=205)

|1 stroke

|{{flagicon|USA}} Dana Quigley

align=center|6

|align=right|Apr 23, 2000

|Las Vegas Senior Classic

|−19 (67-66-64=197)

|5 strokes

|{{flagicon|USA}} Bruce Fleisher {{flagicon|USA}} Hale Irwin

align=center|7

|align=right|May 28, 2000

|Boone Valley Classic (2)

|−16 (66-66-68=200)

|3 strokes

|{{flagicon|USA}} Tom Watson

align=center|8

|align=right|Aug 27, 2000

|FleetBoston Classic

|−13 (67-70-66=203)

|4 strokes

|{{flagicon|USA}} Jim Thorpe

align=center|9

|align=right|Sep 3, 2000

|Foremost Insurance Championship

|−18 (66-69-63=198)

|3 strokes

|{{flagicon|USA}} Dave Stockton

align=center|10

|align=right|Sep 24, 2000

|Bank One Senior Championship

|−13 (67-68-68=203)

|6 strokes

|{{flagicon|USA}} Bill Brask, {{flagicon|USA}} Jim Thorpe

align=center|11

|align=right|Oct 1, 2000

|Vantage Championship

|−12 (66-63-69=198)

|Playoff

|{{flagicon|USA}} Jim Dent, {{flagicon|USA}} Gil Morgan

align=center|12

|align=right|Jan 24, 2001

|MasterCard Championship

|−19 (67-64-66=197)

|1 stroke

|{{flagicon|USA}} Jim Thorpe

align=center|13

|align=right|Feb 8, 2001

|Royal Caribbean Classic

|29 pts (6-15-8=29)

|1 point

|{{flagicon|ARG}} Vicente Fernández

align=center|14

|align=right|Jun 24, 2001

|FleetBoston Classic (2)

|−15 (65-69-67=201)

|3 strokes

|{{flagicon|USA}} Bruce Fleisher

align=center|15

|align=right|Jul 8, 2001

|Farmers Charity Classic (2)

|−14 (67-67-68=202)

|1 stroke

|{{flagicon|USA}} Jim Ahern

align=center|16

|align=right|Oct 21, 2001

|SBC Championship

|−17 (67-69-63=199)

|2 strokes

|{{flagicon|USA}} Bob Gilder, {{flagicon|USA}} Gary McCord

align=center|17

|align=right|Sep 14, 2003

|Constellation Energy Classic

|−9 (67-70-70=207)

|2 strokes

|{{flagicon|USA}} Jim Dent, {{flagicon|USA}} Doug Tewell

align=center|18

|align=right|May 9, 2004

|FedEx Kinko's Classic

|−7 (73-69-67=209)

|1 stroke

|{{flagicon|USA}} Bruce Lietzke

align=center|19

|align=right|Oct 10, 2004

|Administaff Small Business Classic

|−14 (68-70-64=202)

|Playoff

|{{flagicon|USA}} Hale Irwin

Champions Tour playoff record (2–3)

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

!No.!!Year!!Tournament!!Opponent(s)!!Result

style="background:#F2C1D1;"

|align=center|1

|1998

|Cadillac NFL Golf Classic

|{{flagicon|USA}} Jim Colbert, {{flagicon|USA}} Bob Dickson

|Dickson won with birdie on first extra hole

style="background:#F2C1D1;"

|align=center|2

|1998

|Kroger Senior Classic

|{{flagicon|RSA}} Hugh Baiocchi, {{flagicon|NZL}} Bob Charles
{{flagicon|USA}} Frank Conner, {{flagicon|USA}} Bruce Summerhays

|Baiocchi won with birdie on second extra hole

style="background:#F2C1D1;"

|align=center|3

|2000

|The Countrywide Tradition

|{{flagicon|USA}} Tom Kite, {{flagicon|USA}} Tom Watson

|Kite won with birdie on sixth extra hole
Nelson eliminated by par on second hole

style="background:#D0F0C0;"

|align=center|4

|2000

|Vantage Championship

|{{flagicon|USA}} Jim Dent, {{flagicon|USA}} Gil Morgan

|Nelson won with birdie on sixth extra hole
Dent eliminated by birdie on first hole

style="background:#D0F0C0;"

|align=center|5

|2004

|Administaff Small Business Classic

|{{flagicon|USA}} Hale Irwin

|Won with birdie on first extra hole

=Other senior wins (6)=

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)

Playoff record

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (0–1)

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

!No.!!Year!!Tournament!!Opponent!!Result

style="background:#F2C1D1;"

|align=center|1

|1987

|Nissan-Mobil New Zealand Open

|{{flagicon|NIR}} Ronan Rafferty

|Lost to par on seventh extra hole

Major championships

=Wins (3)=

class="wikitable" !Year!!Championship!!54 holes!!Winning score!!Margin!!Runner-up
style="background:#D8BFD8;" \| 1981	PGA Championship	4 shot lead	−7 (70-66-66-71=273)	4 strokes	{{flagicon\|USA}} Fuzzy Zoeller
style="background:#FBCEB1;" \| 1983	U.S. Open	1 shot deficit	−4 (75-73-65-67=280)	1 stroke	{{flagicon\|USA}} Tom Watson
style="background:#D8BFD8;" \| 1987	PGA Championship (2)	3 shot deficit	−1 (70-72-73-72=287)	Playoff¹	{{flagicon\|USA}} Lanny Wadkins

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

=Results timeline=

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament !! 1976 !! 1977 !! 1978 !! 1979

align=left|Masters Tournament

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T31

align=left|U.S. Open

|T21

|T54

|CUT

|style="background:yellow;"|T4

align=left|The Open Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|PGA Championship

|T34

|T54

|T12

|T28

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament !!1980 !! 1981 !! 1982 !! 1983 !! 1984 !! 1985 !! 1986 !! 1987 !! 1988 !! 1989

align=left|Masters Tournament

|style="background:yellow;"|T6

|CUT

|style="background:yellow;"|T7

|CUT

|style="background:yellow;"|5

|T36

|CUT

|T33

|CUT

align=left|U.S. Open

|T60

|T20

|T19

|style="background:lime;"|1

|CUT

|T39

|T35

|CUT

|T62

|T13

align=left|The Open Championship

|T12

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T32

|T53

|CUT

|T56

|CUT

|T48

|T13

|CUT

align=left|PGA Championship

|CUT

|style="background:lime;"|1

|CUT

|T36

|CUT

|T23

|CUT

|style="background:lime;"|1

|T38

|T46

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament !!1990 !! 1991 !! 1992 !! 1993 !! 1994 !! 1995 !! 1996 !! 1997 !! 1998 !! 1999

align=left|Masters Tournament

|48

|55

|DQ

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|U.S. Open

|T14

|style="background:yellow;"|T3

|CUT

|T46

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|The Open Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|PGA Championship

|CUT

|T28

|T56

|CUT

|WD

|T71

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament !! 2000 !! 2001 !! 2002 !! 2003 !! 2004 !! 2005 !! 2006 !! 2007 !! 2008 !! 2009

align=left|Masters Tournament

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|U.S. Open

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|The Open Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|PGA Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament !! 2010 !! 2011

align=left|Masters Tournament

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|U.S. Open

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|The Open Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|PGA Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

CUT = missed the halfway cut (3rd round cut in 1984 Open Championship)

DQ = disqualified

WD = withdrew

"T" indicates a tie for a place.

=Summary=

Totals	3	0	1	6	8	17	70	42
class=wikitable style=text-align:center !Tournament !! Wins !! 2nd !! 3rd !! Top-5 !! Top-10 !! Top-25 !! Events !! Cuts made
align=left\|Masters Tournament	0	0	0	1	3	3	14	9
align=left\|U.S. Open	1	0	1	3	3	8	20	14
align=left\|The Open Championship	0	0	0	0	0	2	9	6
align=left\|PGA Championship	2	0	0	2	2	4	27	13