TV analyst Byrum seeking second career after age 50

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Badz/PGA TOUR

Curt Byrum's 50th birthday falls on Dec. 28, 2008, but he will not have status on the Champions Tour.

Dec. 8, 2008
By Lauren Deason, PGATOUR.COM Editorial Coordinator

Some of golf's favorite names and most familiar faces will be joining the Champions Tour in 2009. Over the next three weeks, PGATOUR.COM will take a look at the former PGA TOUR winners who turned 50 in late 2008 or who will hit the half-century mark in 2009 and likely make their Champions Tour debut.

Curt Byrum will find that he fits in well on the Champions Tour.

Like so many players before him, Byrum switched from on-course duties to behind the camera work on the broadcast side. He has been an analyst for the GOLF CHANNEL since 2002, covering Nationwide Tour events and select PGA TOUR events.

Condon/PGA TOUR

Byrum's only PGA TOUR win came at the 1989 Hardee's Golf Classic.

The Basics

NAME: Curt Allen Byrum

HT: 6-2 WT: 195

BIRTHDATE: December 28, 1958

BIRTHPLACE: Onida, S.D.

RESIDENCE: Scottsdale, Ariz.

TURNED PRO: 1982

TOUR WINS: 1

Click here to view Byrum's player profile.

Photo gallery

Click here for a look back at Byrum's PGA TOUR career.

Before he joined the television ranks, which has featured other Champions Tour-eligible players like Curtis Strange, Nick Faldo, John Mahaffey and Jerry Pate, to name a few, Byrum held his own on the PGA TOUR and Nationwide Tour.

When he reunites with his fellow Champions Tour members, Byrum will be able to say that he lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., a popular place for pros to make their home base. Plus, he and Lanny Wadkins will also have something in common -- other than their television careers -- since both had younger brothers join them on the TOUR.

In Byrum's case, it was his brother Tom, who was two years younger than Curt. The pair grew up in Onida, S.D., and Tom followed closely in Curt's footsteps when he left the small town life. When Curt decided to attend the University of New Mexico, Tom did also. Then, when Curt left after his junior year to work with Ken Venturi in Florida, Tom also left.

In fact, it's their unique bond that helped both of them succeed. While they were growing up, Tom was a golfer who shot scores in the 80s. In an amazingly short period of time, Curt taught him enough to transform him into a professional-caliber golfer.

"Curt made it a lot easier for me," Tom once said. "It's a lot easier to emulate someone than to do it on your own. He and my dad wouldn't let me practice anything that wasn't right. I never wasted any time, it was all serious business. I learned that from Curt."

When it came to a victory on the PGA TOUR, though, it was Curt who followed in Tom's winning steps. Tom won the 1989 Kemper Open then Curt captured the 1989 Hardee's Classic just seven weeks later. Curt beat Bill Britton and Brian Tennyson for his first title at Oakwood Country Club in Coal Valley, Ill.

Those were the only wins for both brothers on the PGA TOUR. Curt, however, was a member of the Nationwide Tour in 1992-93 and 1998-2000 and won the 1993 NIKE White Rose Classic and 1999 NIKE South Florida Classic on that circuit.

Health problems affected his TOUR career, as Curt had surgery on his right elbow in 1992 and again had elbow surgery in 1996. The first caused him to drop to 194th on the PGA TOUR Money List. In total, Curt finished inside the top 10 in 19 of 307 starts on the PGA TOUR. Over nearly two decades as a professional golfer, the father of two -- his son Jake has caddied for him in Nationwide Tour events -- earned more than $1.5 million.

Now, Curt can do something that Tom can't do until 2010-- join the Champions Tour. Though he failed to earn status during the Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament -- he tied for 17th -- Curt will likely attempt to play on the circuit when his television schedule allows. He's maintained his game while practicing at the Desert Mountain Golf Club, his home course in Arizona.

But, before too long, Tom will turn 50 as well. The two have always fed off of their rivalry, but also root for the other to do well.

In 1988, when the brothers were relatively new to the PGA TOUR, they joked about walking up the 72nd fairway tied for the lead.

"I definitely wouldn't be rooting against him," Curt said then, "but I sure as heck would be trying to beat him.

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to win because he knocked it in the water. I'd rather beat him on my own," Tom said.

Five things you may not know -- or may have forgotten -- about Byrum

1. The Byrums were the 11th set of brothers to win on the PGA TOUR. Joining the likes of Joe and John Inman; Alex, MacDonald and Willie Smith; and Jim, Joe, Mike and Phil Turnesa, the Byrums were one of just two sets of brothers who captured their first TOUR victories in the same year. The others were Lionel and Jay Hebert.

2. Curt was the quarterback for the Sully Buttes High School football team and a guard on the basketball team. Tom also played football and basketball -- the brothers generally just focused on golf in the summer -- and wanted to be a professional calf roper. "I don't think golf was the first love for either of us," Curt said in 1988 to the Houston Post. "It was just a matter of longevity. I figured I could play golf longer than I could play quarterback."

3. The Byrums grew up in Onida, S.D., which had a population of 740 according to the 2000 census. How do two PGA TOUR golfers come out of the same tiny town? "We had a 9-hole course with sand greens and there wasn't much else to do there, I guess," Tom once said. The brothers used to mow the course so they could practice.

4. Curt was South Dakota's athlete of the year in 1978 and was recruited by colleges to play three different sports. "The school was so small, that every guy was expected to play at least two or three sports or you were considered a (nerd)," Curt said.

5. There's just something about Oakwood Country Club for Curt. In 1983, right after he qualified through q-school, Byrum shot a 63 in the opening round of the Hardee's Golf Classic there to lead his first TOUR event. He then came back in 1986 on a sponsor's exemption and led until the 71st hole before losing to Mark Wiebe by one stroke. The earnings from that finish, however, allowed him to remain on TOUR for two more years. In 1989, Oakwood Country Club was also the site of his first TOUR victory.