| Byron Nelson | |
|---|---|
 Byron Nelson, c. 1944 | |
| Personal information | |
| Full name | John Byron Nelson Jr. |
| Nickname | Lord Byron |
| Born | February 4, 1912 Waxahachie, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | September 26, 2006 (aged 94) Roanoke, Texas, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
| Sporting nationality |  United States |
| Spouse |
|
| Career | |
| Turned professional | 1932 |
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Professional wins | 64 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 52 (6th all-time) |
| Other | 12 |
| Best results in major championships (wins: 5) | |
| Masters Tournament | Won: 1937, 1942 |
| PGA Championship | Won: 1940, 1945 |
| U.S. Open | Won: 1939 |
| The Open Championship | 5th: 1937 |
| Achievements and awards | |
| (For a full list of awards, see here) | |
John Byron Nelson Jr. (February 4, 1912 – September 26, 2006) was an American professional golfer between 1935 and 1946, widely considered one of the greatest golfers of all time.
Nelson and two other legendary champions of the time, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead, were born within seven months of each other in 1912.[2][3] Although he won many tournaments in the course of his relatively brief career, he is mostly remembered today for having won 11 consecutive tournaments and 18 total tournaments in 1945. He retired officially at the age of 34 to be a rancher, later becoming a commentator and lending his name to the Byron Nelson Classic, the first PGA Tour event to be named for a professional golfer. As a former Masters champion he continued to play in that annual tournament, placing in the top-10 six times between 1947 and 1955 and as high as 15th in 1965.[4]
In 1974, Nelson received the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf, and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.[5] He became the second recipient of the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. He received the 1994 Old Tom Morris Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, that organization's highest honor. Nelson was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2006.
- ^ Anderson, Dave (June 27, 2007). "An honor for Byron Nelson, Golf's patron saint". The New York Times. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
- ^ Kelley, Brent. "Ben Hogan". About.com. Archived from the original on May 27, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2007.
- ^ Kelley, Brent. "Sam Snead". About.com. Archived from the original on January 27, 2017. Retrieved May 25, 2007.
- ^ Historic Augusta Leaderboards
- ^ "Byron Nelson profile". World Golf Hall of Fame. Retrieved January 16, 2014.