Week 20 Approach Shots: HP Byron Nelson Champ.
By PGATOUR.COM Staff
REMEMBERING A LEGEND: The HP Byron Nelson Championship celebrates the life and legacy of the late Byron Nelson, one of the game's most respected and revered individuals.
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Nelson reached the pinnacle of his golfing career in 1945, when he won 18 tournaments, including a record 11-tournament winning streak that will likely stand the test of time. Throughout his relatively brief career, he won 54 times, including the 1939 U.S. Open, 1937 and 1942 Masters Tournaments, and the 1940 and 1945 PGA Championships.
Above and beyond his accomplishments on the golf course, Nelson (who passed away in 2006) is universally regarded as one of the game's true gentlemen.
The tournament has several ways of honoring Nelson, including the Byron Nelson International Junior Golf Awards (recognizing the achievements of junior golfers around the world) and the Byron Nelson Prize sponsored by T. Boone Pickens (awarded each year to a person or organization in the golf world who exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship, integrity and philanthropy). Past recipients of the Byron Nelson Prize include Tom Lehman (2007) and Ken Venturi (2008). This year's winner was Arnold Palmer.
TEXAS SLAM: The HP Byron Nelson Championship is the third leg of the Texas Swing on the PGA TOUR, with Paul Casey having captured the first leg with his playoff victory at the Shell Houston Open earlier this year. Zach Johnson won the second leg at the Valero Texas Open last week in a playoff over James Driscoll. The remaining event is next week's Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. No player has ever won the Texas Grand Slam, but a number of players, including Ben Crenshaw, Roberto De Vincenzo, Ben Hogan, Gene Littler and Arnold Palmer, have won three titles.
Corey Pavin, who is making his 22nd start at the HP Byron Nelson Championship, is seeking to make history this week by becoming the first player to perform the feat.
LOCAL FAVORITES: The TOUR has several players who live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, the site of this week's HP Byron Nelson Championship. Which local residents are teeing it up this week?
• Chad Campbell, an Andrews, Texas native, is playing for the eighth straight time at the HP Byron Nelson Championship, with a fifth-place effort in 2006 his best outing out of six made cuts.
• Dallas resident and two-time TOUR winner Anthony Kim finished T19 in '08 and T51 in '07.
• Colt Knost, a Dallas resident, is making his third start at the event, missing the cut a year ago and finishing T67 in 2007.
• Well-known Dallas product Justin Leonard is making his 16th start at the event, with his only missed cut coming in 2000. He's had two top-10 finishes, including a T6 in 2001 and a T9 in 2003.
• Native son Scott Verplank will be making his 23rd start at the HP Byron Nelson Championship, with his most recent finish resulting in a T61 finish (2008). He is the tournament's all-time earnings leader, thanks to a win in 2007 and a runner-up finish in 2001.
• Fort Worth native Brian Gay is hoping to ride the momentum of his win at the Verizon Heritage to a great finish at Las Colinas. He has made five weekend appearances in nine starts at the tournament, and is coming off of his best showing -- a T7 in 2008.
ON-COURSE OBSERVATIONS: PGA TOUR Network correspondent Fred Albers is on the scene in Dallas for this week's satellite radio coverage (XM 146/SIRIUS 209). Reports Albers:
When Billy Mayfair heard the news that Amy Mickelson has breast cancer, he was visibly shaken. He wanted to deliver an appropriate response but, having been stricken with cancer himself, he also needed a moment to compose his emotions. Mayfair then gave a most thoughtful interview, stressing that Amy's positive spirit would be her best weapon in fighting the disease.
Scott Verplank grew up in Dallas, attended the Nelson as a young boy and worked with Byron on his golf game. His victory here in 2007 is the highlight of his career, and Verplank says being back at Las Colinas floods his memory with great thoughts. "I don't really think of lessons Byron gave me, but I've thought of how he lived his life. And that's how I remember Byron -- more than just a golfer, as a wonderful person."
How did Mike Weir prepare for this week's championship? With some whitewater rafting. The former Masters champion got together with friends in southern Utah to ride the rapids through some canyon lands. This was no-family, male-only bonding, and Weir says it cleared his mind perfectly for a big run of championship golf.
The Four Seasons Las Colinas is the host hotel, and the talk of the TOUR is the hotel facilities. Technology has made its way to the water closet. The Four Seasons features a photo-electric eye that automatically raises and lowers the seats. The seats are heated, and there's even a warm-air dryer. It is the throne of luxury.
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