Byron Nelson: Did You Know?

To truly understand the magnitude of modern day accomplishments in the game of golf, one must first possess knowledge of the game’s history.  

This is the second part of a series that will explore some obscure facts about historical events and players that may be unknown to most golf fans.

The Glen Garden Caddie Yard

What are the chances that two of the greatest golfers of all-time would come from the same caddie yard in Texas?

Well, that’s exactly what happened in the case of Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan.

Both players began their love affair with the game of golf as caddies at the Glen Garden Country Club in Fort Worth, TX.

In fact, Nelson’s first win of any substance came at the age of 14 when he defeated Ben Hogan in the Glen Garden caddie tournament.

Most golf fans will know that Byron Nelson won 11 consecutive events and 18 events in total during the 1945 season.

But, did you also know that Nelson finished second seven times during the 1945 season?

Heck, if that were today Nelson would have earned at least $21.5 million during a single season.

Nelson set a scoring average record in 1945 that held up for 55 years until it was eventually broken by Tiger Woods in 2000?

It has often been said that Nelson’s accomplishments during the 1945 season are slightly overrated due to the fact that several of the game’s top players were still at war. 

But that common assumption is not necessarily true.

Ben Hogan won four times in 1945 and Sam Snead won six times.

With a scoring average of 68.33, Nelson could have been playing against a field consisting of Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen—all during their primes—and still come out on top a large percentage of the time.

Consecutive Cuts Made

Byron Nelson’s 113 consecutive cuts made is second only to Tiger Woods (Woods had a streak of 142 consecutive cuts).

However, the PGA Tour defines making a “cut” as receiving a paycheck.  During Nelson’s era, only the top-20 players in the field were given paychecks.  

This means that Nelson essentially finished within the top-20 in 113 consecutive tournaments.

Whether the fields were smaller in the late '30s and early '40s than today has almost no bearing on the sheer magnitude of that last statistic.

113 consecutive top-'20s?

That might very well be the most dominant streak ever recorded in the history of golf.   

A lot of success in a short amount of time

Byron Nelson played golf with a single goal in mind: He wanted to earn enough money to retire from the game and purchase a large ranch in rural Texas.

Nelson won his first professional event in 1935 at the New Jersey State Open.  During the next 11 years, he proceeded to win 52 PGA Tour events (sixth all-time) and five major championships.

Due to the outbreak of World War II, only nine major championships were played during the prime years of Nelson's career (1940-1945).

Nelson won three of those nine majors and finished outside of the top-10 just once.

Based on Nelson's winning percentage during those six years, it is in no way far-fetched to believe that he could have racked up eight major championship wins between 1940 and 1945 had the standard four majors been played each year.

That would have brought his career total to ten majors and 58 wins before walking away from the game at the age of 34.

Few players in the game’s long and illustrious history have ever had more success during such a short period of time.