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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.
Nelson took up golf at the age of 21, after he returned from serving in the infantry in Vietnam War (Nelson was a 20-year-old newlywed when he was drafted into the U.S. Army). 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. 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.
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.
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
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> LagRx Swing Trainer to help golfers condition and improve their muscle memory.
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".
| Major championships (3) |
| Other PGA Tour (7) |
| 1 | Mar 11, 1979 | Jackie Gleason-Inverrary Classic | −14 (67-69-67-71=274) | 3 strokes | Grier Jones |
| 2 | Jul 8, 1979 | Western Open | −2 (71-69-70-76=286) | Playoff | Ben Crenshaw |
| 3 | Jun 8, 1980 | Atlanta Classic | −18 (66-69-68-67=270) | 7 strokes | Andy Bean, Don Pooley |
| 4 | Apr 5, 1981 | Greater Greensboro Open | −7 (69-68-69-75=281) | Playoff | Mark Hayes |
| 5 | Aug 9, 1981 | PGA Championship | −7 (70-66-66-71=273) | 4 strokes | Fuzzy Zoeller |
| 6 | Jun 19, 1983 | U.S. Open | −4 (75-73-65-67=280) | 1 stroke | Tom Watson |
| 7 | Oct 21, 1984 | Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic | −22 (66-66-64-70=266) | 1 stroke | Hubert Green |
| 8 | Aug 9, 1987 | PGA Championship (2) | −1 (70-72-73-72=287) | Playoff | Lanny Wadkins |
| 9 | Oct 18, 1987 | Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic (2) | −20 (68-69-68-63=268) | 1 stroke | Morris Hatalsky, Mark O'Meara |
| 10 | Jun 26, 1988 | Georgia-Pacific Atlanta Golf Classic (2) | −20 (63-66-66-73=268) | 1 stroke | Chip Beck |
PGA Tour playoff record (3–2)
| 1 | 1979 | Danny Thomas Memphis Classic | Gil Morgan | Lost to birdie on second extra hole |
| 2 | 1979 | Western Open | Ben Crenshaw | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 3 | 1981 | Greater Greensboro Open | Mark Hayes | Won with birdie on second extra hole |
| 4 | 1987 | PGA Championship | Lanny Wadkins | Won with par on first extra hole |
| 5 | 1989 | GTE Byron Nelson Classic | Jodie Mudd | Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
| 1 | Oct 12, 1980 | Tokai Classic | −14 (72-69-66-67=274) | 1 stroke | Yutaka Hagawa |
| 2 | Apr 24, 1983 | Dunlop International Open1 | −12 (67-65-69=201)* | 1 stroke | Masahiro Kuramoto |
| 3 | Sep 10, 1989 | Suntory Open | −12 (69-67-70-70=276) | Playoff | Saburo Fujiki |
| 4 | Nov 24, 1991 | Dunlop Phoenix Tournament | −12 (70-71-67-68=276) | Playoff | Isao Aoki, Seve Ballesteros, Jay Don Blake |
PGA of Japan Tour playoff record (2–1)
| 1 | 1985 | Suntory Open | Tateo Ozaki | Lost to par on second extra hole |
| 2 | 1989 | Suntory Open | Saburo Fujiki | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 3 | 1991 | Dunlop Phoenix Tournament | Isao Aoki, Seve Ballesteros, Jay Don Blake | Won with par on fourth extra hole Ballesteros eliminated by birdie on third hole Blake eliminated by par on first hole |
| 1 | Feb 22, 1998 | American Express Invitational | −13 (63-69-71=203) | 4 strokes | Dave Stockton |
| 2 | May 31, 1998 | Pittsburgh Senior Classic | −12 (65-65-74=204) | 5 strokes | Bob Duval |
| 3 | Sep 27, 1998 | Boone Valley Classic | −16 (70-65-65=200) | 2 strokes | Graham Marsh |
| 4 | Feb 21, 1999 | GTE Classic | −8 (70-68-67=205) | 2 strokes | Bruce Fleisher |
| 5 | May 2, 1999 | Bruno's Memorial Classic | −11 (70-67-68=205) | 1 stroke | Dana Quigley |
| 6 | Apr 23, 2000 | Las Vegas Senior Classic | −19 (67-66-64=197) | 5 strokes | Bruce Fleisher Hale Irwin |
| 7 | May 28, 2000 | Boone Valley Classic (2) | −16 (66-66-68=200) | 3 strokes | Tom Watson |
| 8 | Aug 27, 2000 | FleetBoston Classic | −13 (67-70-66=203) | 4 strokes | Jim Thorpe |
| 9 | Sep 3, 2000 | Foremost Insurance Championship | −18 (66-69-63=198) | 3 strokes | Dave Stockton |
| 10 | Sep 24, 2000 | Bank One Senior Championship | −13 (67-68-68=203) | 6 strokes | Bill Brask, Jim Thorpe |
| 11 | Oct 1, 2000 | Vantage Championship | −12 (66-63-69=198) | Playoff | Jim Dent, Gil Morgan |
| 12 | Jan 24, 2001 | MasterCard Championship | −19 (67-64-66=197) | 1 stroke | Jim Thorpe |
| 13 | Feb 8, 2001 | Royal Caribbean Classic | 29 pts (6-15-8=29) | 1 point | Vicente Fernández |
| 14 | Jun 24, 2001 | FleetBoston Classic (2) | −15 (65-69-67=201) | 3 strokes | Bruce Fleisher |
| 15 | Jul 8, 2001 | Farmers Charity Classic (2) | −14 (67-67-68=202) | 1 stroke | Jim Ahern |
| 16 | Oct 21, 2001 | SBC Championship | −17 (67-69-63=199) | 2 strokes | Bob Gilder, Gary McCord |
| 17 | Sep 14, 2003 | Constellation Energy Classic | −9 (67-70-70=207) | 2 strokes | Jim Dent, Doug Tewell |
| 18 | May 9, 2004 | FedEx Kinko's Classic | −7 (73-69-67=209) | 1 stroke | Bruce Lietzke |
| 19 | Oct 10, 2004 | Administaff Small Business Classic | −14 (68-70-64=202) | Playoff | Hale Irwin |
Champions Tour playoff record (2–3)
| 1 | 1998 | Cadillac NFL Golf Classic | Jim Colbert, Bob Dickson | Dickson won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 2 | 1998 | Kroger Senior Classic | Hugh Baiocchi, Bob Charles Frank Conner, Bruce Summerhays | Baiocchi won with birdie on second extra hole |
| 3 | 2000 | The Countrywide Tradition | Tom Kite, Tom Watson | Kite won with birdie on sixth extra hole Nelson eliminated by par on second hole |
| 4 | 2000 | Vantage Championship | Jim Dent, Gil Morgan | Nelson won with birdie on sixth extra hole Dent eliminated by birdie on first hole |
| 5 | 2004 | Administaff Small Business Classic | Hale Irwin | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 1 | 1987 | Nissan-Mobil New Zealand Open | Ronan Rafferty | Lost to par on seventh extra hole |
| Fuzzy Zoeller |
| Tom Watson |
| Lanny Wadkins |
| Masters Tournament | T31 | |||
| U.S. Open | T21 | T54 | CUT | T4 |
| The Open Championship | ||||
| PGA Championship | T34 | T54 | T12 | T28 |
| Masters Tournament | T6 | CUT | T7 | CUT | 5 | T36 | T36 | CUT | T33 | CUT |
| U.S. Open | T60 | T20 | T19 | 1 | CUT | T39 | T35 | CUT | T62 | T13 |
| The Open Championship | T12 | T32 | T53 | CUT | T56 | CUT | T48 | T13 | CUT | |
| PGA Championship | CUT | 1 | CUT | T36 | CUT | T23 | CUT | 1 | T38 | T46 |
| Masters Tournament | 48 | 55 | DQ | |||||||
| U.S. Open | T14 | T3 | CUT | T46 | CUT | CUT | ||||
| The Open Championship | ||||||||||
| PGA Championship | CUT | CUT | T28 | T56 | CUT | CUT | WD | T71 | CUT |
| Masters Tournament | ||||||||||
| U.S. Open | ||||||||||
| The Open Championship | ||||||||||
| PGA Championship | CUT | CUT | CUT |
| Masters Tournament | ||
| U.S. Open | ||
| The Open Championship | ||
| PGA Championship | CUT |
CUT = missed the halfway cut (3rd round cut in 1984 Open Championship)
DQ = disqualified
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
| 9 |
| 14 |
| 6 |
| 13 |
| The Players Championship | CUT | T72 | T39 | T8 | T4 | T20 | DQ | CUT | T10 | CUT | T62 | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | T59 |
| The Players Championship | T16 | T23 | CUT | CUT | T55 | CUT | T62 | CUT | CUT |
CUT = missed the halfway cut
DQ = disqualified
"T" indicates a tie for a place
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