1974-80. Great year of 1979.
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Larry Nelson enjoyed a superb career - three majors, a magnificent
Ryder Cup record and numerous Tour victories - yet he did not pick up a
golf club until he was 21 years of age. Just two years later he turned
professional and in 1974 qualified for the US Tour. By 1976 he had made
the top 60 in the money list and he did so with ease for the next couple
of years. It was 1979,however,that was the real breakthrough year for
the man from Alabama as he won his first Tour event,at the Inverrary
Classic,and added to that with victory at the Western Open. Nelson also
turned in a fine performance at the US Open,played at Inverness,to
finish in 4th place,four strokes behind the winner Hale Irwin.
His
splendid form earned him his first Ryder Cup appearance - and what a
debut it was! Five matches and five wins as the Americans cruised to a
17-11 victory over the first ever European team. By the end of the week
Europe's bright young hope Seve Ballesteros,who had won the Open
Championship earlier that year,must have been positively fed up of the
sight of Nelson as he suffered four defeats in four matches at the hands
of the American newcomer. Included in Nelson's five victories were a
5&4 thrashing that he and Lanny Wadkins handed out to Ballesteroes
and Antonio Garrido whilst in the singles Larry eased to a comfortable
3&2 success over the young Spaniard. Nelson added the Atlanta Golf
Classic to his list of Tour victories the following year and there was
also a useful showing at the Masters,where he finished in a tie for 6th
place at five under par. (David Scranage)
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Photo of Larry Nelson taken 17th July 1983. © G. Herringshaw.
1981-83. First major at 1981 PGA followed by '83 US Open
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Larry Nelson enjoyed a fine year in 1981,with success at the Greater
Greensboro' and,more importantly,the PGA Championship. Fittingly for
Nelson that PGA triumph was at his hometown course of Atlanta Athletic
Club and came courtesy of a four stroke victory from Fuzzy Zoeller.
Larry opened the event steadily enough with a level par 70 and then
fired two excellent middle rounds of 66,followed by a closing effort of
71 to secure his first major championship. Nelson made the winning 1981
Ryder Cup team and carried on where he had left off in '79 with four
straight wins to take his record to an astonishing played nine,won nine.
Larry was denied the opportunity of making it ten wins out of ten when
captain Dave Marr rested him for the first day four-balls in the match
played at Walton Heath,Surrey. Nelson failed to win a Tour event in 1982
and the following year he had been having a poor season when he came
from nowhere to capture the US Open title. His opening rounds of 75 and
73 had left him seven strokes adrift of the lead but a brilliant third
round 65 brought him back into the shake-up. It was a battle between he
and Tom Watson on the final day and Nelson finally got the better of his
fellow American to win by one stroke. The turning point came at the
par-3 16th hole where Larry holed a magnificent birdie putt of over 60
feet on his way to carding a 67,compared to Watson's closing round of
69. (David Scranage)
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Photograph of Larry Nelson taken at 1983 Open Championship by George Herringshaw. ©
1984 onwards. Surprise victory at 1987 PGA.
| Larry Nelson won the Walt Disney World Classic in 1984 and also put in
his best ever performace at the Masters to finish in 5th place at seven
under,just four strokes behind the winner Ben Crenshaw. Thereafter his
career went into something of a decline and he did not win again until
his surprise victory at the 1987 PGA Championship. Nelson was tied with
Lanny Wadkins at one under par after returning rounds of 70,72,73 and 72
and then prevailed in a play-off with his fellow American. It was his
second PGA Championship,six years after he had won his first,and his
third major title in all. That win helped him to his highest earning
year on the Tour,with a total of $501,292,and a finish of 14th place on
the money list. It also meant a return to the Ryder Cup team after an
absence of six years but Larry was not able to reproduce the stunning
exploits of his previous two appearances. The 1979 and '81 matches had
yielded the remarkable return of nine wins from nine games but it was to
be a different story at Muirfield Village,as Nelson could muster only a
half point from his four games as the Americans went down to a 15-13
defeat. That was to be Larry's last Ryder Cup but he still boasted a
highly impressive record from his three appearances. Nelson won the 1988
Georgia-Pacific Atlanta Classic with a one stroke victory from Chip
Beck and that proved to be his 10th and last Tour victory. (David
Scranage) |