The Mystique of Lord Byron By Dean Meadors It´s lunchtime at the Nelson Pro-Am, and those who can afford $3,500 for an afternoon of golf are milling around the free food, their tongues wagging happily and their spikes clicking loudly on the outdoor patio floor. In the midst of the commotion and chatter—his cardboard plate full of food—stands the man whose name is stamped on everything in sight, including the napkin he holds. At this moment, Byron Nelson is simply looking for a place to sit and eat. He spies a nearly empty table and asks, “Do you mind if I join you?” For 20 minutes, Nelson and his wife eat and chat as if they had just met some friendly fellow American in some remote part of the world. “Do they make you wear one of those too?” he is asked in reference to the admittance badge clipped to his collar. “Oh, they send it to me so I wear it,” he smiles. “I think I’m supposed to.” Maybe he thinks he is. But no one within ten miles of the annual golf tournament/fund raiser/party wouldn’t know the smiling face and calm demeanor of Lord Byron Nelson. And absolutely no one who has met him even once isn’t impressed with the gentle nature of this golfing giant. “I don’t consider myself a celebrity,” he was once quoted as saying, “but I do have a lot of wonderful friends.” Like a lot of Nelson’s comments, this is an understatement. In the sixty-plus years since Nelson hit his first shot in a pro golf event, he has picked up friends like the rest of us miss 10-foot putts. He is a genuinely modest and unassuming man, despite the domination he held over his chosen sport. Among his accomplishments:
It is not only unlikely that Lord Byron’s accomplishments will ever be broken, it approaches impossibility. In today’s competitive golf world, two wins a year will make you rich. Three makes you a candidate for Golfer of the Year. Nelson won 18. He grew up around Fort Worth, Texas and played in many local events before turning pro. His first tournament was in 1932 in Texarkana and he finished third. That winter he joined the regular tour. By the time Nelson ended his relatively brief career, he had won 54 tournaments including five “majors”—the Masters in 1937 and 1942, the PGA in 1940 and 1945, and the USGA National Open in 1939. He was also the tour’s top money winner two times, the Vardon Trophy winner once, and a member of the Ryder Cup team four times. He was elected to the PGA Hall of Fame in 1953, the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974 and named Athlete of the Year in both 1944 and 1945—one of only two athletes to be so honored twice. Nelson was known throughout his career for a swing as graceful and consistent as it was accurate. His devotion to perfecting accuracy led to his being regarded by fellow pros as the straightest and most controlled long game player in the world. The Nelson swing is still, in fact, considered a model of accuracy, and Lord Byron has shared his knowledge as a great teacher of the game with many great players, including Tom Watson, six-time “Player of the Year.” It seems fitting then that the GTE-Byron Nelson Classic is the only PGA event named in honor of a golfer. And in the 22 years since Nelson’s name was attached to the event, a special ingredient of the tournament’s greatness has been the personal presence of Lord Byron—golfer, philanthropist, teacher and all-around nice guy. |