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Larry Nelson  |
EXEMPT STATUS: Top 31 on 2002 Champions Tour Money List FULL NAME: Larry 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 Junior College (1970) SPECIAL INTERESTS: Golf course architecture TURNED PROFESSIONAL: 1971 JOINED TOUR: 1997 |
| 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. |
| Champions 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 |
| 746 (8) |
| Current Year Champions Tour Money and Positions |
| $693,315 (6) |
| Current Year Best Champions Tour Finishes |
| 2--MasterCard Championship, Toshiba Senior Classic, T2--Emerald Coast Classic, 3--Music City Championship at Gaylord Opryland, T7--Columbus Southern Open, T10--Senior PGA Championship |
| Current Year Champions Tour Best Round |
| 63 at Round 3, Columbus Southern Open |
| Current Year Champions Tour Highlights |
| Battled Fuzzy Zoeller and eventual winner Dana Quigley down the stretch in the season-opening MasterCard Championship before eventually finishing second. Shared the second-round lead with the pair and was tied with Quigley after birdies on 16 and 17 on Sunday. But a bogey at 18 left him two behind Quigley at the finish...Was also second at the Toshiba Senior Classic, finishing four strokes behind Rodger Davis. Helped his cause with a second-round 64...Finished as a runner-up for the second time in the last four years at the Emerald Coast Classic in April. Ended four strokes back of Bob Gilder despite playing his last 36 holes at The Moors without making a bogey...Earned top-10 finishes in successive weeks at the Columbus Southern Open (T7) and the Music City Championship (third) when he closed with rounds of 63 and 64, respectively. |
| Best PGA TOUR Finishes |
| 1--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. |
| Best Champions Tour Finishes |
| 1--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. |
| Best 2002 Champions Tour Finishes |
| 2--TD Waterhouse Championship, 3--Bruno's Memorial Classic, T4--RJR Championship, T5--MasterCard Championship, FleetBoston Classic, SENIOR TOUR Championship at Gaillardia, T6--Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf, Senior PGA Championship, Kroger Senior Classic, T7--U.S. Senior Open, T8--FORD SENIOR PLAYERS Championship, |
| 2002 Season PGA TOUR |
| Tournaments Entered--1; in money--; Top 10 finishes--0 |
| 2002 Season Champions Tour |
| Tournaments Entered--25; in money--25; Top 10 finishes--11 |
| 2002 Season Highlights |
| Did not record a victory for the first time since joining the Champions Tour late in the 1997 season, but still managed to eclipse seven figures in earnings for the fifth straight year...Had his two best events in back-to-back starts during May. Was the 36-hole leader at the Bruno's Memorial Classic, but slipped to third, one stroke out of playoff contention, after a final-round 70 at Greystone...Backed up Birmingham performance with a solo second effort at the rain-shortened TD Waterhouse Championship. Was two strokes back of Bruce Lietzke after 36 holes at Tiffany Greens, but final round was canceled because of rain...Made a spirited run at a third straight FleetBoston Classic title in late July, but, despite a final-round 7-under 65, came up two strokes short of a playoff spot (T5). |
| Career Highlights |
| 2001: Eclipsed the $2-million mark in earnings for a second straight year and again led the Champions Tour in official victories with five...Claimed 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 in a season since Don January did so 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 history of the Boston event to win in successive years. 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. 54-hole total of 17-under-par 199 at The Dominion was a tournament record...Matched the low round of his career when he fired a second-round 63 at the Toshiba Senior Classic and also carded 63 in the final round of the SBC Championship. 2000: Voted by his peers as the winner of the Jack Nicklaus Award as the Champions Tour's Player of the Year...Earned $2,708,005, the third highest money total in Champions Tour history and claimed his first Arnold Palmer Award as the leading money-winner. Averaged $90,267 per start over 30 appearances thanks to a season-best six victories that included four wins in his final eight starts...Set an all-time Champions 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...Won by five over Hale Irwin and Bruce Fleisher at the Las Vegas Senior Classic...Second win came near St. Louis when he posted a three-stroke victory over Tom Watson at the Boone Valley Classic thanks to a dramatic eagle on the 17th hole... Was 4-under-par over his last nine holes at Nashawtuc and claimed the FleetBoston Classic by four over Jim Thorpe... Cruised to a wire-to-wire victory the following week and beat Dave Stockton by three strokes at the Foremost Insurance Championship in Grand Rapids. 18-under 198 total at Egypt Valley was a tournament record and included a course-record 63 on the final day...Took over the lead in the money race for good when he edged Bill Brask and Jim Thorpe by a stroke at the Bank One Senior Championship in Dallas...Went on to best Gil Morgan and Jim Dent in a six-hole playoff at the Vantage Championship...Set Champions 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)...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)...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). 1999: Bothered by a herniated disc in his neck at several points during the year, but still won multiple official titles...Thwarted Bruce Fleisher's attempt at winning a third straight Champions Tour start when he 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. 1998: Won three times in his first full year on the Champions 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 Champions 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 Champions 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 tournaments...Best effort was a T2 in his second career start at the Comfort Classic. In the hunt to the end at Brickyard Crossing before a final-hole birdie by winner David Graham...Prior to moving to the Champions Tour, played 18 events on the PGA TOUR, winning $196,981...T2 at the Doral-Ryder Open was his best TOUR finish that year and earned him his largest PGA TOUR career paycheck ($158,400). |
| Personal |
| 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 |
| Champions Tour Playoff Record |
| 1-3 |