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Larry Gene Nelson (born September 10, 1947) is an Americanprofessional golfer. He has won numerous tournaments at both thePGA Tour andChampions Tour level.

Early life and amateur career

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Nelson was born inFort Payne, Alabama and grew up inAcworth, Georgia, northwest ofAtlanta. He did not play the game growing up – atypical for a successful professional golfer – focusing onbasketball andbaseball.

Nelson took up golf at the age of 21, after he returned from serving in the infantry inVietnam (Nelson was a 20-year-old newlywed when he was drafted into theU.S. Army).^[2] Nelson was first introduced to golf by Ken Hummel, a soldier and friend in his infantry unit, and Nelson carefully studiedBen Hogan's bookThe Five Fundamentals of Golf while learning how to play the game.^[3] 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 fromKennesaw Junior College in 1970.

Professional career

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In 1971, Nelson turned professional. He qualified for thePGA Tour at1973 PGA Tour Qualifying School. Nelson's breakthrough year came in 1979 when he won twice and finished second on the money list toTom Watson.

Nelson won 10 times on thePGA Tour including threemajor championships. He earned his first major title at the1981 PGA Championship which he won by four strokes overFuzzy Zoeller. In 1983, Nelson was victorious at theU.S. Open atOakmont coming from seven behind at the halfway point to defeatTom 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 byGene Sarazen. His 10-under-par 132 record score has yet to be equaled. In 1987, he finished tied withLanny Wadkins after the regulation 72 holes of thePGA Championship. He won the title with a par at the first playoff hole.^[4]

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 theJapan Golf Tour. Nelson also finished runner-up at the 1982Dunlop Phoenix Tournament, 1985Suntory Open, and the 1987Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters in Japan. In addition, in 1987 he finished runner-up at theNew Zealand Open on thePGA Tour of Australia. He lost to Northern Ireland'sRonan Rafferty in a sudden-death playoff.

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

Nelson is also active in golf course design and created theLagRx Swing Trainer to help golfers condition and improve their muscle memory.

Honors

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Nelson was inducted into theWorld Golf Hall of Fame in October 2006.^[2]

In 2011, Nelson received the PGA Distinguished Service Award from thePGA of America. The award "honors outstanding individuals who display leadership and humanitarian qualities, including integrity, sportsmanship and enthusiasm for the game of golf".^[5]

Professional wins (41)

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PGA Tour wins (10)

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Legend
Major championships (3)
Other PGA Tour (7)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
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)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
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

PGA of Japan Tour wins (4)

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No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
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)^[a]	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

¹Co-sanctioned by theAsia Golf Circuit

PGA of Japan Tour playoff record (2–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
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

Other wins (2)

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

Champions Tour wins (19)

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No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
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 FleisherHale 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)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
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

Other senior wins (6)

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1999 Chrysler Senior Match Play Challenge
2004Office Depot Father/Son Challenge (with son Drew)
2007Del Webb Father/Son Challenge (with son Josh)
2008Del Webb Father/Son Challenge (with son Drew)
2015Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf (Legends division, withBruce Fleisher)
2016Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf (Legends division, withBruce Fleisher)

Playoff record

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PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (0–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	1987	Nissan-Mobil New Zealand Open	Ronan Rafferty	Lost to par on seventh extra hole

Major championships

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Wins (3)

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Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
1981	PGA Championship	4 shot lead	−7 (70-66-66-71=273)	4 strokes	Fuzzy Zoeller
1983	U.S. Open	1 shot deficit	−4 (75-73-65-67=280)	1 stroke	Tom Watson
1987	PGA Championship(2)	3 shot deficit	−1 (70-72-73-72=287)	Playoff¹	Lanny Wadkins

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

Results timeline

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Tournament	1976	1977	1978	1979
Masters Tournament				T31
U.S. Open	T21	T54	CUT	T4
The Open Championship
PGA Championship	T34	T54	T12	T28

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
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

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1999
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

Tournament	2001	2002	2006
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship	CUT	CUT	CUT

Tournament	2010	2011
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship		CUT

Win

Top 10

Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut (3rd round cut in 1984 Open Championship)
DQ = disqualified
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

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Tournament	Wins	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	0	1	3	3	14	9
U.S. Open	1	1	3	3	8	20	14
The Open Championship	0	0	0	0	2	9	6
PGA Championship	2	0	2	2	4	27	13
Totals	3	1	6	8	17	70	42

Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (1978 PGA – 1980 Open Championship)
Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1981 PGA – 1982 Masters)

Results in The Players Championship

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Tournament	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
The Players Championship	CUT	T72	T39	T8	T4	T20	DQ	CUT	T10	CUT	T62	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	T59

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998
The Players Championship	T16	T23	CUT	CUT	T55	CUT	T62	CUT	CUT

Top 10

CUT = missed the halfway cut
DQ = disqualified
"T" indicates a tie for a place

U.S. national team appearances

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Ryder Cup:1979 (winners),1981 (winners),1987
UBS Warburg Cup: 2001 (winners)
Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (representing Senior PGA Tour): 1997, 1998 (winners)

Notes

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^Shortened to 54 holes due to weather.

References

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^"Week 29 1988 Ending 17 Jul 1988"(pdf).OWGR. RetrievedSeptember 25, 2019.
^^a ^b"World Golf Hall of Fame member bio". RetrievedNovember 15, 2013.
^Reinhard, Paul (June 29, 2000)."Quiet Nelson Set To Make Some Noise".The Morning Call.
^"Golf Major Championships". RetrievedNovember 15, 2013.
^"Larry Nelson to receive award from PGA".ESPN. Associated Press. April 13, 2011.

External links

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Larry Nelson at thePGA Tour official site
Larry Nelson at theJapan Golf Tour official site
Larry Nelson at theOfficial World Golf Ranking official site
Larry Nelson at theWorld Golf Hall of Fame

Larry Nelson in themajor championships

U.S. Open champions

† indicates the event was won in a playoff; ‡ indicates the event was won wire-to-wire; # indicates the event was won by an amateur; 1942–1945cancelled due toWorld War II

v t e PGA Championship champions
Match play era	1916Jim Barnes 1919Jim Barnes 1920Jock Hutchison 1921Walter Hagen 1922Gene Sarazen 1923Gene Sarazen 1924Walter Hagen 1925Walter Hagen 1926Walter Hagen 1927Walter Hagen 1928Leo Diegel 1929Leo Diegel 1930Tommy Armour 1931Tom Creavy 1932Olin Dutra 1933Gene Sarazen 1934Paul Runyan 1935Johnny Revolta 1936Denny Shute 1937Denny Shute 1938Paul Runyan 1939Henry Picard 1940Byron Nelson 1941Vic Ghezzi 1942Sam Snead 1944Bob Hamilton 1945Byron Nelson 1946Ben Hogan 1947Jim Ferrier 1948Ben Hogan 1949Sam Snead 1950Chandler Harper 1951Sam Snead 1952Jim Turnesa 1953Walter Burkemo 1954Chick Harbert 1955Doug Ford 1956Jack Burke Jr. 1957Lionel Hebert
Stroke play era	1958Dow Finsterwald 1959Bob Rosburg 1960Jay Hebert 1961Jerry Barber† 1962Gary Player 1963Jack Nicklaus 1964‡Bobby Nichols 1965Dave Marr 1966Al Geiberger 1967Don January† 1968Julius Boros 1969‡Raymond Floyd 1970Dave Stockton 1971Jack Nicklaus 1972Gary Player 1973Jack Nicklaus 1974Lee Trevino 1975Jack Nicklaus 1976Dave Stockton 1977Lanny Wadkins† 1978John Mahaffey† 1979David Graham† 1980Jack Nicklaus 1981Larry Nelson 1982‡Raymond Floyd 1983‡Hal Sutton 1984Lee Trevino 1985Hubert Green 1986Bob Tway 1987Larry Nelson† 1988Jeff Sluman 1989Payne Stewart 1990Wayne Grady 1991John Daly 1992Nick Price 1993Paul Azinger† 1994Nick Price 1995Steve Elkington† 1996Mark Brooks† 1997Davis Love III 1998Vijay Singh 1999Tiger Woods 2000‡Tiger Woods† 2001David Toms 2002Rich Beem 2003Shaun Micheel 2004Vijay Singh† 2005Phil Mickelson 2006Tiger Woods 2007Tiger Woods 2008Pádraig Harrington 2009Y. E. Yang 2010Martin Kaymer† 2011Keegan Bradley† 2012Rory McIlroy 2013Jason Dufner 2014Rory McIlroy 2015Jason Day 2016Jimmy Walker 2017Justin Thomas 2018Brooks Koepka 2019Brooks Koepka 2020Collin Morikawa 2021Phil Mickelson 2022Justin Thomas† 2023Brooks Koepka 2024‡Xander Schauffele 2025Scottie Scheffler
† indicates the event was won in a playoff; ‡ indicates the event was won wire-to-wire; 1943cancelled due toWorld War II

Larry Nelson in theRyder Cup

v t e United States Ryder Cup team –1979
Andy Bean Lee Elder Hubert Green Mark Hayes Hale Irwin Tom Kite John Mahaffey Gil Morgan Larry Nelson Lee Trevino Lanny Wadkins Fuzzy Zoeller Billy Casper (non-playing captain)
Won: 17 – 11

v t e United States Ryder Cup team –1981
Ben Crenshaw Raymond Floyd Hale Irwin Tom Kite Bruce Lietzke Johnny Miller Larry Nelson Jack Nicklaus Jerry Pate Bill Rogers Lee Trevino Tom Watson Dave Marr (non-playing captain)
Won: 18.5 – 9.5

v t e United States Ryder Cup team –1987
Andy Bean Mark Calcavecchia Ben Crenshaw Tom Kite Larry Mize Larry Nelson Dan Pohl Scott Simpson Payne Stewart Curtis Strange Hal Sutton Lanny Wadkins Jack Nicklaus (non-playing captain)
Lost: 13 – 15