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Larry Nelson
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EXEMPT STATUS: Top 31
on 2001 SENIOR TOUR Money List
FULL NAME: Larry Gene Nelson
HEIGHT: 5-9
WEIGHT: 150
BIRTHDATE: September 10, 1947
BIRTHPLACE: Ft. Payne, AL
RESIDENCE: Marietta, GA
FAMILY: Wife, Gayle; Drew (10/7/76), Josh (9/28/78);
granddaughter Ariel (1/26/01)
EDUCATION: Kennesaw (Ga.) Junior College (1970)
SPECIAL INTERESTS: Golf course architecture
TURNED PROFESSIONAL: 1971
JOINED TOUR: 1997
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| PGA TOUR Victories |
| (10) 1979 Jackie Gleason Inverrary Classic, Western
Open. 1980 Atlanta Classic. 1981 Greater Greensboro, PGA
Championship. 1983 U.S. Open Championship. 1984 Walt Disney
World Golf Classic. 1987 PGA Championship, Walt Disney
World/Oldsmobile Classic. 1988 Georgia-Pacific Atlanta
Golf Classic. |
| SENIOR TOUR Victories |
| (16) 1998 American Express Invitational, Pittsburgh
Senior Classic, Boone Valley Classic. 1999 GTE Classic,
Bruno's Memorial Classic. 2000 Las Vegas Senior Classic,
Boone Valley Classic, FleetBoston Classic, Foremost Insurance
Championship, Bank One Senior Championship, Vantage Championship.
2001 MasterCard Championship, Royal Caribbean Classic,
FleetBoston Classic, Farmers Charity Classic, SBC Championship. |
| International Victories |
| 1999 Chrysler Senior Match Play Challenge |
| Other Victories |
| 1980 Tokai Classic. 1983 Dunlop International Open,
1989 Suntory Open, 1991 Dunlop Phoenix. |
| Current Year Charles Schwab Cup
Points and Positions |
| 140 (T19th) |
| Current Year SENIOR PGA TOUR Money
and Positions |
| $257,680 (17) |
| Current Year SENIOR TOUR Best Finishes |
| T5--MasterCard Championship; T6--Liberty Mutual Legends
of Golf |
| Current Year SENIOR TOUR Best Round |
| 64 at Round 2, Toshiba Senior Classic |
| Current Year SENIOR TOUR Highlights |
| Opened the year with a T5 at the MasterCard Championship...Posted
a second round 7-under-par 64 to get himself into conention
at the Toshiba Senior Classic but followed with a 2-over-par
73 to finish T15...Withdrew prior to the start of the
tournament at the Siebel Classic in Silicon Valley with
an arm injury. |
| 2001 Season PGA TOUR |
| Tournaments Entered--1; in money--0; Top-10 finishes--0 |
| Best 2001 SENIOR TOUR Finishes |
| 1--MasterCard Championship, Royal Caribbean Classic,
FleetBoston Classic, Farmers Charity Classic, SBC Championship;
T2--Lightpath Long Island Classic; T3--SBC Senior Classic,
The Home Depot Invitational; T5--The Countrywide Tradition,
SENIOR TOUR Championship; T6--Verizon Classic, Emerald
Coast Classic, SAS Championship; 7--Las Vegas Senior Classic,
Toshiba Senior Classic, U.S. Senior Open; T8--ACE Group
Classic |
| 2001 Season SENIOR TOUR |
| Tournaments Entered--28; in money--27; Top-10 finishes--17 |
| 2001 Season Highlights |
| Backed up his stellar 2000 season with another blockbuster
year last season...Eclipsed the $2 million mark in earnings
for a second straight year and again led the SENIOR TOUR
in official victories with five...Started the year with
a bang, claiming the first two events of the season --
the MasterCard Championship by one stroke over Jim Thorpe
and the Royal Caribbean Classic by one point over Isao
Aoki. Became the first player to win the first two tournaments
of the season since Don January in 1981...Added a third
victory in late June by defending his title at the FleetBoston
Classic (by three strokes over Bruce Fleisher), the fifth
player in the 21-year history of the Boston event to win
in successive years. Two weeks later, defended again at
the Farmers Charity Classic in Michigan, nipping Jim Ahern
by one shot for his fourth victory of the season...Picked
up his fifth win late in the campaign at the SBC Championship,
defeating Bob Gilder and Gary McCord by two strokes. His
54-hole total of 17-under-par 199 was a tournament record
and his final- round 63 (tying a career low) matched the
Dominion course record as well...Came close to winning
on several other occasions...Along with Allen Doyle, finished
second to Bobby Wadkins at the Lightpath Long Island Classic
despite three rounds in the 60s...Was also tied with eventual
winner Jim Colbert after two rounds at the SBC Senior
Open, but fired a closing-round 72 to finish T3 at Valencia,
two strokes behind Colbert...Shared the third-round lead
with Jim Colbert and Isao Aoki at the U.S. Senior Open,
but finished T7 after closing with a 75...Saw his streak
of consecutive top-10 finishes dating back to the fall
of 2000 end at 14 straight when he finished T15 at the
Siebel Classic in Silicon Valley in March...Withdrew from
the NFL Golf Classic after the first round due to arm
and shoulder pain...Matched the low round of his career
when he fired a second-round 63 at the Toshiba Senior
Classic and also did so in the final round of his win
at the SBC Championship...Played in the PGA Championship
at the Atlanta Athletic Club and opened with a 68 before
shooting a 74 and missing the cut. |
| Career Highlights |
| 2000: Voted by his peers as the winner of the Jack Nicklaus
Award as the SENIOR PGA TOUR's Player of the Year...Fell
short of breaking Hale Irwin's mark for most money won
in a single season ($2,861,945), but still had the second
best year in SENIOR TOUR history when he earned $2,708,005
and claimed his first Arnold Palmer Award as the leading
money-winner. Averaged $90,267 per start in 30 appearances
with a season-best six victories...Credited a new diet
and overall good health for his stellar play, especially
in the latter stages of the season when he was perhaps
the hottest player on the SENIOR TOUR. Won four times
in his final eight starts and also had a pair of second-place
finishes during that span...Set an all-time SENIOR TOUR
record for most consecutive par/better rounds (32), starting
the streak in the final round of the U.S. Senior Open
in early July and ending it in the opening round of the
SBC Senior Classic in late October...First victory came
when he tamed the TPC at Summerlin with a tournament-record
19-under-par 197 total and won by five over Hale Irwin
and Bruce Fleisher at the Las Vegas Senior Classic...Second
came near St. Louis when he battled Tom Watson on the
final day at the Boone Valley Classic and posted a three-stroke
win thanks to a dramatic eagle on the 17th hole...Collected
a pair of back-to-back wins late in the season. Shot 4-under
over the last nine holes at Nashawtuc to claim the FleetBoston
Classic by four over Jim Thorpe and the following week
cruised to a wire-to-wire three-stroke victory over Dave
Stockton at the Foremost Insurance Championship. Win in
Grand Rapids came with a tournament record 18-under 198
total that included a course-record 63 on the final day...After
finishing one stroke behind Hubert Green in his next start
at the Kroger Senior Classic near Cincinnati, came back
the following week to edge Bill Brask and Jim Thorpe by
a stroke at the Bank One Senior Championship...Went on
to best Gil Morgan and Jim Dent in a six-hole playoff
at the Vantage Championship...Took over the lead in the
money race for good with his victory at the Bank One Senior
Championship in Dallas, a one-stroke triumph over Bill
Brask and Jim Thorpe...Was also second seven times, including
a playoff loss at The Countrywide Tradition and a pair
of T2s at the PGA Seniors' Championship and the FORD SENIOR
PLAYERS Championship...Was the SENIOR TOUR's Player of
the Month in April, May and September...Set new SENIOR
TOUR standards for Rounds in the 60s (59/breaking Bruce
Fleisher's old mark of 56 in 1999) and also for best Putting
Average (1.724/breaking Jim Colbert's mark of 1.725 in
1991)...Also had 23 top-10 finishes to lead the way in
that category, four more than the next closest player...Raised
eyebrows when he fired a 12-under-par 58 (29-29--58) in
the Thursday Pro-Am at the Kroger Senior Classic (missed
15-footer on the last hole for 57)...Twice matched his
career best with 63 in the final round of the Foremost
Insurance Championship and again in the second round of
the Vantage Championship...Had just one round outside
the 60s in his six victories (second round 70 at the FleetBoston
Classic) and was over par in just one tournament all year
(+6 at the GTE Classic)...Was a cumulative 245 strokes
under par for the year. 1999: Had some occasional flareups
with a herniated disc in his neck, but still won multiple
official titles for the second consecutive season...Thwarted
Bruce Fleisher's attempt at winning a third straight SENIOR
TOUR start when he fired a closing-round 67 and prevailed
by two strokes at the GTE Classic near Tampa...Birdied
three of his last seven holes to edge Dana Quigley for
the Bruno's Memorial Classic title in Birmingham, his
fifth career win on the SENIOR TOUR...Opened the AT&T
Canada Senior Open Championship with a course-record 63
at Richelieu Valley, his low round on the circuit that
season...Was also second to Fleisher in defense of his
American Express Invitational title and was the runner-up
at the snow-shortened Tradition...Closed with a final-round
65 at The Dunes Club to finish T2 with Fleisher, one stroke
back of Gary McCord in the IR SENIOR TOUR Championship...Played
in the PGA Championship but missed the cut. 1998: Won
three times in his first full year on the SENIOR TOUR
and lost two other events in playoffs...Missed seven weeks
during the summer with a herniated disc near his neck...Initial
victory came at the American Express Invitational in Sarasota...Opened
with a sizzling 9-under 63 and cruised to a wire-to-wire
four-stroke win over Dave Stockton...Registered another
easy start-to-finish win at the Pittsburgh Senior Classic.
After building a SENIOR TOUR record-tying eight-stroke
lead after 36 holes, waltzed to a five-shot triumph over
Bob Duval at Sewickley Heights...Used a pair of 65s on
the weekend to ease past Graham Marsh for the Boone Valley
Classic title near St. Louis. 1997: Made his SENIOR TOUR
debut at the Boone Valley Classic, just two days after
turning 50, and T16 after an opening-round 69...Made six
starts and finished in the top 10 in four of those tournaments...Best
effort was a T2 in his second start at the Comfort Classic...Was
in the hunt to the end before a final-hole birdie by winner
David Graham...Prior to moving to the SENIOR TOUR, played
18 events on the PGA TOUR, winning $196,981...T2 at the
Doral-Ryder Open was his best TOUR finish and largest
PGA TOUR career paycheck ($158,400) that year. |
| Personal |
| Former Player Director on the PGA TOUR Policy Board...Didn't
begin playing golf until returning from his military service
in Vietnam. Got his instruction from reading Ben Hogan's
book, "The Five Fundamentals of Golf"...Broke 100 the
first time he played and broke 70 within nine months...Active
in golf course design, with 12 courses open for play worldwide.
Two of his layouts host tournaments -- Springhouse Golf
Club (BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland) and Fuji Dejima
in Japan (Nikkei Cup)...Has two sons who are aspiring
golfers -- Drew, his oldest, has played on the Hooters
Tour and Josh graduated from Auburn...A former pitcher/shortstop
for a Georgia Colt League Champion team as a youngster. |
| PGA TOUR Playoff Record |
| 3-2 |
| SENIOR TOUR Playoff Record |
| 1-3 |
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