NELSON, BYRON

in full John Byron Nelson (b. Feb. 4, 1912, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.), one of a long line of outstanding Texas professional golfers. Nelson set several records in a career that he was obliged to shorten for reasons of health. Nelson began as a caddie at the age of 12 and became a professional in 1932. He won the U.S. Open (1939), the Masters (1937 and 1942), and the Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA) championship (1940 and 1945). The top U.S. money winner in 1944 and 1945, Nelson finished in the money 113 consecutive times. He set records in 1945 when he won 11 tournaments in succession and 18 out of 30 tour tournaments. Nelson also won the Vardon trophy in 1939 for low scoring average. Almost mechanically accurate with his iron shots, he won the 1939 Western Open over the difficult Medinah No. 3 course near Chicago without leaving the fairway once in 72 holes. He kept in close touch with the game after his retirement: he was nonplaying captain of the Ryder Cup team in 1965 and did television commentary. Nelson was elected to the PGA Hall of Fame in 1953 and to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974. His autobiography, How I Played the Game, was published in 1993.