The post Winner’s bag: K.H. Lee’s equipment at the 2022 AT&T Byron Nelson appeared first on Golf.

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K.H. Lee held off a hard-charging Jordan Spieth to defend his AT&T Byron Nelson title at TPC Craig Ranch. Take a closer look at the setup he used to get it done.

Driver: Callaway Epic Max LS (Graphite Design Tour AD DI 6X shaft), 10.5 degrees

3-wood: Callaway Rogue ST LS (Graphite Design Tour AD GP 7X shaft), 15 degrees

Hybrid: Titleist TS3 (Graphite Design Tour AD HY 95X shaft), 19 degrees

Irons: Callaway Apex (4-iron; True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Mid X100 shaft), Callaway X Forged CB (5-PW; True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Mid X100 shafts)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM7 (52-08F, 56-14F and 60-08M degrees; True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts)

Putter: Odyssey Works Versa 2-Ball Fang

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Want to overhaul your bag for 2022? Find a fitting location near you at GOLF’s affiliate company True Spec Golf. For more on the latest gear news and information, check out our latest Fully Equipped podcast below.

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The post 2022 AT&T Byron Nelson purse: Payout info, winner’s share in Texas appeared first on Golf.

The post 2022 AT&T Byron Nelson purse: Payout info, winner’s share in Texas appeared first on Golf.

After three long days of play, we’ve reached the final round at the 2022 AT&T Byron Nelson. Below, find everything you need to know about tournament money at TPC Craig Ranch, including payout information, winner’s share and more.

2022 AT&T Byron Nelson final round preview

Golf’s preeminent Texan enters Sunday in Dallas with a chance to close out his second win in 2022. Jordan Spieth (-20) sits just one stroke back of the lead heading into Sunday’s final round. A win on Sunday would give Spieth a springboard in the final event before the PGA Championship, vaulting him to among the biggest favorites at golf’s second major.

News

Spieth and Munoz will be two of the leaders in the final pairing on Sunday, alongside Joaquin Niemann, the 23-year-old Chilean seeing a career ascension of his own. The trio will look to hold off a group of chasing players including Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele and, of course, Scottie Scheffler. Irrespective of the winner, Sunday will be the final chance for fans to watch players ahead of this year’s PGA Championship, and could give some clues as to whose game is trending in the right direction heading into Southern Hills.

Below, find everything you need to know about tournament money, including payout information and winner’s share, for the AT&T Byron Nelson’s $9.1 million purse; you can catch all the action Sunday beginning at 3 p.m. ET on CBS.

2022 AT&T Byron Nelson payout information, winner’s share

1. $1,638,000
2. $982,800
3. $618,800
4. $436,800
5. $364,000
6. $327,600
7. $304,850
8. $282,100
9. $263,900
10. $245,700
11. $227,500
12. $209,300
13. $191,100
14. $172,900
15. $163,800
16. $154,700
17. $145,600
18. $136,500
19. $127,400
20. $118,300
21. $109,200
22. $101,920
23. $94,640
24. $87,360
25. $80,080
26. $72,800
27. $70,070
28. $67,340
29. $64,610
30. $61,880
31. $59,150
32. $56,420
33. $53,690
34. $51,415
35. $49,140
36. $46,865
37. $44,590
38. $42,770
39. $40,950
40. $39,130
41. $37,310
42. $35,490
43. $33,670
44. $31,850
45. $30,030
46. $28,210
47. $26,390
48. $24,934
49. $23,660
50. $22,932
51. $22,386
52. $21,840
53. $21,476
54. $21,112
55. $20,930
56. $20,748
57. $20,566
58. $20,384
59. $20,202
60. $20,020
61. $19,838
62. $19,656
63. $19,474
64. $19,292
65. $19,110
66. $18,928
67. $18,746
68. $18,564
69. $18,382
70. $18,200

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The post 2022 AT&T Byron Nelson live coverage: How to watch Sunday’s final round appeared first on Golf.

The post 2022 AT&T Byron Nelson live coverage: How to watch Sunday’s final round appeared first on Golf.

After three days, we’ve finally reached the final round of play at the 2022 AT&T Byron Nelson. Below, find everything you need to know to tune into Sunday’s final round action from TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas.

2022 AT&T Byron Nelson final round preview

For Jordan Spieth, the timing is nothing shy of serendipitous. The 28-year-old enters the final round at the 2022 AT&T Byron Nelson firmly in contention — trailing by just a single stroke behind Sebastian Munoz in what is a de facto home game at TPC Craig Ranch. A victory on Sunday would be Spieth’s second this year, and third since breaking his years-long drought in early 2021. But it’d also be a victory in the final event before the PGA Championship — a springboard carrying the three-time major champ into Southern Hills on a high.

News

Spieth (-20) and Munoz (-21) will serve as two-thirds of the final group on Sunday, but they’re far from the only notable names in contention. Trailing closely behind those two is a group headlined by Joaquin Niemann (-19), Justin Thomas (-18) and Scottie Scheffler (-16). With the four of Spieth, Niemann, Thomas and Scheffler figuring to make up a chunk of the most-watched names at next week’s PGA, Sunday will be key in getting a final glimpse of their game before the second major of the year.

Below, find everything you need to know to tune into Sunday’s final round at the Byron Nelson, including TV and streaming schedules, and tee times.

SIGN UP FOR PGA TOUR LIVE ON ESPN+ TO STREAM THE ENTIRE 2022 AT&T BYRON NELSON ONLINE

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How to watch the AT&T Byron Nelson on TV

CBS and Golf Channel will split TV coverage of the 2022 AT&T Byron Nelson. Golf Channel will provide early coverage on the weekend, with CBS taking over for the heart of the final round. Check out the full TV schedule below.

Sunday, May 15: 1-3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel, ESPN+); 3-6 p.m. ET (CBS, Paramount+)

How to watch the AT&T Byron Nelson online, streaming

The best way to watch the 2022 AT&T Byron Nelson online is with PGA Tour Live on ESPN+. PGA Tour Live will stream extensive coverage of the event from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. ET on Saturday and Sunday, in addition to featured group coverage. Sign up for an ESPN+ account here to start streaming.

SIGN UP FOR PGA TOUR LIVE ON ESPN+ TO STREAM THE ENTIRE 2022 AT&T BYRON NELSON ONLINE

(GOLF.com may receive a commission when you sign up for ESPN+ through the link above.)

How to bet on the AT&T Byron Nelson

Looking to make a (legal!) wager yourself? We teamed with BetMGM, and the online sportsbook is offering a “Risk-Free Bet” up to $1000 promotion. Sign up for an account to get into the action today.

2022 AT&T Byron Nelson tee times: Round 4

Tee No. 1

12:30 p.m. — Sebastián Muñoz, Jordan Spieth, Joaquin Niemann

12:20 p.m. — James Hahn, Justin Thomas, K.H. Lee

12:10 p.m. — Charl Schwartzel, Ryan Palmer, Davis Riley 

Noon — Scottie Scheffler, Beau Hossler, Christiaan Bezuidenhout

11:50 a.m. — Stephan Jaeger, David Lipsky, Peter Malnati

11:40 a.m. — Maverick McNealy, Jason Kokrak, J.J. Spaun

11:30 a.m. — Hideki Matsuyama, Seamus Power, Joohyung Kim

11:20 a.m. — Dustin Johnson, Trey Mullinax, Austin Smotherman

11:10 a.m. — Taylor Moore, Tom Hoge, Carlos Ortiz

11 a.m. — Mito Pereira, David Skinns, Michael Thompson

10:50 a.m. — Aaron Wise, Rory Sabbatini, Vince Whaley

10:40 a.m. — Patrick Rodgers, Aaron Rai, Matt Kuchar

10:30 a.m. — Mark Hubbard, Scott Stallings, Alex Noren

10:20 a.m. — Xander Schauffele, Justin Lower, Pat Perez

Tee No. 10 

12:30 p.m. — Wesley Bryan, Patton Kizzire, Kiradech Aphibarnrat

12:20 p.m. — Jared Wolfe, Max McGreevy, Dawie van der Walt

12:10 p.m. — Michael Gligic, Andrew Novak, Jhonattan Vegas

Noon — Tommy Fleetwood, Sepp Straka, Martin Trainer

11:50 a.m. — Adam Svensson, Kyle Wilshire, Sahith Theegala

11:40 a.m. — Keith Mitchell, Tyler Duncan, Jason Day

11:30 a.m. — Matthias Schwab, Marc Leishman, Peter Uihlein

11:20 a.m. — Ian Poulter, Cameron Champ, Vaughn Taylor

11:10 a.m. — Lanto Griffin, Chesson Hadley, Callum Tarren

11 a.m. — Adam Schenk, Bill Haas, Emiliano Grillo

10:50 a.m. — Conrad Shindler, Dylan Frittelli, Adam Scott

10:40 a.m. — Branden Grace, Nate Lashley, Francesco Molinari

10:30 a.m. — Matthew NeSmith, Paul Barjon, Seth Reeves

10:20 a.m. — Brice Garnett, Brandon Wu, Joseph Bramlett

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We’ve reached the weekend at the 2022 Byron Nelson. Below, find everything you need to know to tune in to the action in Texas on Saturday.

2022 Byron Nelson third round preview

Remember Dustin Johnson? Well, right on cue, he’s looking for a moving day charge at the 2022 AT&T Byron Nelson. The two-time major champ is closing in on 18 months removed from his last professional victory (which came at the November Masters), but enters the weekend at the Byron Nelson with an opportunity to get back in the winner’s circle. Johnson (-8) is some seven strokes off the lead set by Ryan Palmer, Sebastian Munoz and David Skinns, but with gettable moving day conditions at TPC Craig Ranch, Johnson can close the gap considerably before the day is done.

News

Jordan Spieth also enters Saturday in contention. Golf’s favorite Texan enters the weekend with a home-field advantage (and some houseguests) from his nearby Dallas, and is in a tie for eighth. A victory at the Byron Nelson would give Spieth his third in the last 15 months, and a sizable springboard heading into next week’s PGA Championship.

Below, find everything you need to know to tune into the action on Saturday, including television and streaming information, and tee times.

SIGN UP FOR PGA TOUR LIVE ON ESPN+ TO STREAM THE ENTIRE 2022 AT&T BYRON NELSON ONLINE

(GOLF.com may receive a commission when you sign up for ESPN+ through the link above.)

How to watch the AT&T Byron Nelson on TV

CBS and Golf Channel will split TV coverage of the 2022 AT&T Byron Nelson. Golf Channel will provide coverage of the first two rounds and early coverage on the weekend, with CBS taking over for the heart of the third and final rounds. Check out the full TV schedule below.

Saturday, May 14: 1-3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel, ESPN+); 3-6 p.m. ET (CBS, Paramount+)
Sunday, May 15: 1-3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel, ESPN+); 3-6 p.m. ET (CBS, Paramount+)

How to watch the AT&T Byron Nelson online, streaming

The best way to watch the 2022 AT&T Byron Nelson online is with PGA Tour Live on ESPN+. PGA Tour Live will stream extensive coverage of the event from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. ET on Saturday and Sunday, in addition to featured group coverage. Sign up for an ESPN+ account here to start streaming.

SIGN UP FOR PGA TOUR LIVE ON ESPN+ TO STREAM THE ENTIRE 2022 AT&T BYRON NELSON ONLINE

(GOLF.com may receive a commission when you sign up for ESPN+ through the link above.)

How to bet on the AT&T Byron Nelson

Looking to make a (legal!) wager yourself? We teamed with BetMGM, and the online sportsbook is offering a “Risk-Free Bet” up to $1000 promotion. Sign up for an account to get into the action today.

2022 AT&T Byron Nelson tee times: Round 3

Tee No. 1 (all times eastern)

10:20 a.m. — Joohyung Kim, James Hahn, Christiaan Bezuidenhout

10:30 a.m. — Stephan Jaeger, Dylan Frittelli, Trey Mullinax

10:40 a.m. — Jason Day, Aaron Wise, Rory Sabbatini

10:50 a.m. — Davis Riley, Adam Scott, Tom Hoge

11 a.m. — Patrick Rodgers, Aaron Rai, Brice Garnett

11:10 a.m. — Matt Kuchar, Carlos Ortiz, David Lipsky

11:20 a.m. — Scottie Scheffler, Mark Hubbard, Emiliano Grillo

11:30 a.m. — Peter Malnati, Matthias Schwab, Lanto Griffin

11:40 a.m. — Justin Thomas, Maverick McNealy, Scott Stallings

11:50 a.m. — Mito Pereira, Alex Noren, J.J. Spaun

Noon — Beau Hossler, Hideki Matsuyama, Seamus Power

12:10 p.m. — Jordan Spieth, K.H. Lee, Jason Kokrak

12:20 p.m. — Justin Lower, Charl Schwartzel, Joaquin Niemann

12:30 p.m. — Ryan Palmer, David Skinns, Sebastián Muñoz

No. 10

10:20 a.m. — Dustin Johnson, Michael Thompson, Ian Poulter

10:30 a.m. — Austin Smotherman, Paul Barjon, Taylor Moore

10:40 a.m. — Cameron Champ, Vince Whaley, Vaughn Taylor

10:50 a.m. — Pat Perez, Adam Svensson, Dawie van der Walt

11 a.m. — Andrew Novak, Wesley Bryan, Adam Schenk

11:10 a.m. — Bill Haas, Seth Reeves, Kyle Wilshire

11:20 a.m. — Sahith Theegala, Jhonattan Vegas, Branden Grace

11:30 a.m. — Nate Lashley, Marc Leishman, Tommy Fleetwood

11:40 a.m. — Sepp Straka, Francesco Molinari, Chesson Hadley

11:50 a.m. — Brandon Wu, Callum Tarren, Jared Wolfe

12 noon — Joseph Bramlett, Max McGreevy, Matthew NeSmith

12:10 p.m. — Peter Uihlein, Keith Mitchell, Xander Schauffele

12:20 p.m. — Martin Trainer, Patton Kizzire, Tyler Duncan

12:30 p.m. — Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Conrad Shindler, Michael Gligic

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The post The best golfer you’ve never heard of? It’s Harold McSpaden appeared first on Golf.

The post The best golfer you’ve never heard of? It’s Harold McSpaden appeared first on Golf.

Hideki Matsuyama’s win at the Zozo Championship will hang around with us, the pro golf collective, for quite some time. He won by five, in his native Japan. It’s a big deal. Twelve months from now, when pros travel to Japan again, we’ll remember it fondly. 

What we won’t remember is who finished second. 

Cameron Tringale backed his way into a tie for second with Brendan Steele, halfway across the globe while Americans were fast asleep. That podium — Matsuyama, Tringale and Steele — felt right. Hideki is the best player. The runners-up just aren’t bonafide winners. But those second-place finishes are a bigger deal in the golf world than we often give credit for. (Tringale is on the verge of a Masters invite now as a result.) They don’t always have to be an indictment on a player’s ability to win, like we so often treat them. The bedrock of Louis Oosthuizen’s phenomenal career is a bunch of second-place finishes. Twelve of them, to be exact. All of them in the years that followed his first and only Tour victory, an Open Championship. 

If you called Oosthuizen ‘Mr. Runner Up,’ no one would stop you. But in order to be the GRUOAT (Greatest Runner Up of All Time), he’s still got work to do to catch Harold McSpaden. 

McSpaden, a Kansas man who died in 1996 at 87 years old, is the original Mr. Runner Up. He went by one of the best unexplained nicknames in golf: Jug. He is a member of the PGA of America Hall of Fame but not the World Golf Hall of Fame. That distinction, of course, matters a lot. And it likely comes down to the fact that he finished runner-up a lot. Thirteen times in one season, to be exact. 

Mr. Jug’s epic 13-time runner-up season came in 1945, a very famous PGA Tour season. That’s when Byron Nelson famously won 18 times in 30 starts, and 11 times in a row. Everyone from Arnold Palmer to Tiger Woods to Jordan Spieth has been asked to opine on the absurdity of an 18-win Tour season. The consensus is obvious: no one will ever match it. Two wins, these days, is good enough to be nominated for Player of the Year. 

While Lord Byron was lifting all those trophies, he was casting a shadow over our man Jug. McSpaden finished second to Nelson seven times that season, including three times in a row. He finished second that season to Sam Snead, Ben Hogan and Henry Picard. This was war-time and the biggest names who weren’t fighting overseas were gobbling up the trophies on the American golf circuit. And one name was gobbling up all the silver medals.

Jug never competed for the Claret Jug, so his major count was restricted to the Masters, U.S. Open and PGA Championship. You won’t be surprised to hear that his best finish in those was a runner-up finish at the 1937 PGA, held at Pittsburgh Field Club. One thing we know to be true of our favorite runners-up, particularly the modern ones, is that sometimes they seem consumed by the moment, and everything surrounding it. Nevermind that Jug bogeyed the 34th hole and double-bogeyed the 35th hole to blow his two-up-with-three-to-play lead — what mattered most was the 36th hole. Jug had played his way to a 4-foot birdie putt for the win on the 18th hole. Suddenly, things got very real. From that week’s Youngstown Daily Vindicator:

“Taking past performances into consideration, “Jug” ordinarily would pocket such a shot easily. But on this occasion the pressure was terrific. McSpaden clearly showed its effect as he nervously addressed the ball in view of 5,000 breathless onlookers. Suddenly his composure was shattered by the grinding of movie cameras. McSpaden walked away from the ball and pleaded with the officials to order the cameras stopped. The request was granted, but McSpaden was badly shaken. He missed the putt and with it his best chance to dethrone the quiet-spoken Boston professional.”

That’s how McSpaden lost the PGA Championship: Bogey, double bogey, missed 4-footer, and eventually a missed 8-footer on the first playoff hole. Without that PGA victory, McSpaden presents us — those who care deeply about hall of fame admittance — a fascinating case. Because for all his next-best finishes, McSpaden earned plenty of respect from the people who beat him. In part because he was always there, but also because he won 17 times. But it was fitting that the one victory he did notch in 1945 came in a two-man better ball event in Miami. His partner, unsurprisingly, was Nelson. Some players just seem destined to be a running mate rather than the leading man. 

The two were great friends, often competing in fourball events together. They were among the first made-for-TV golfers, too, pitted in many newsreels made during World War II as “The Gold Dust Twins.” And to McSpaden’s credit, he made Nelson runner-up one time, beating him in a playoff at the 1944 Phoenix Open to earn an extra $250. 

Though the history books will never look too kindly on him, McSpaden’s takeaway from his career was perfect. In 1995, just months before his untimely death, he told Nelson simply, “If you wouldn’t have been born, I would have been known as a pretty good player.”  

Damn right, Jug. Damn right. 

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The post 2021 Byron Nelson purse: Payout information, winner’s share appeared first on Golf.

The post 2021 Byron Nelson purse: Payout information, winner’s share appeared first on Golf.

We’ve reached the final round of play at the 2021 AT&T Byron Nelson, here’s everything you need to know about the tournament purse, including payout information and winner’s share.

Byron Nelson final round preview

Skip that snooze button, Sunday nappers, because we’re in for an early finish at the 2021 Byron Nelson. Inclement weather expected for the final round at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas — just outside of Dallas — has forced the PGA Tour to move up final round tee times in order to finish tournament play on Sunday. Threesomes, not the traditional Sunday pairings, will tee off both holes No. 1 and 10 on Sunday morning in order to ensure the maximum possible amount of play. What that means for you, the fans, is that we could see the completion of play well before Sunday evening.

The tournament leader, Sam Burns (-20), is sure to be happy about such a development. Burns, who nabbed his first PGA Tour victory only a few weeks ago, enters Sunday tied for the lead at 20 under for the week following a Friday 62. On Sunday, Burns won’t have to sit on his lead for long before heading out to hold off a group of pros headlined by Jordan Spieth. Spieth claimed his first win in more than three years in Texas six weeks ago, and enters Sunday at 17 under, three strokes back of Burns’ tally.

Below is everything you need to know about the Byron Nelson’s $8.1 million purse; you can catch the action this morning on Golf Channel, this afternoon on PGA Tour Live and cbssports.com, and this evening beginning at 3 p.m. ET on CBS.

Byron Nelson payout information, winner’s share

1. $1,458,000

2. $882,900

3. $558,900

4. $396,900

5. $332,100

6. $293,625

7. $273,375

8. $253,125

9. $236,925

10. $220,725

11. $204,525

12. $188,325

13. $172,125

14. $155,925

15. $147,825

16. $139,725

17. $131,625

18. $123,525

19. $115,425

20. $107,325

21. $99,225

22. $91,125

23. $84,645

24. $78,165

25. $71,685

26. $65,205

27. $62,775

28. $60,345

29. $57,915

30. $55,485

31. $53,055

32. $50,625

33. $48,195

34. $46,170

35. $44,145

36. $42,120

37. $40,095

38. $38,475

39. $36,855

40. $35,235

41. $33,615

42. $31,995

43. $30,375

44. $28,755

45. $27,135

46. $25,515

47. $23,895

48. $22,599

49. $21,465

50. $20,817

51. $20,331

52. $19,845

53. $19,521

54. $19,197

55. $19,035

56. $18,873

57. $18,711

58. $18,549

59. $18,387

60. $18,225

61. $18,063

62. $17,901

63. $17,739

64. $17,577

65. $17,415

The post 2021 Byron Nelson purse: Payout information, winner’s share appeared first on Golf.

The post Why Byron Nelson was one of those players who you’d meet and never forget appeared first on Golf.

The post Why Byron Nelson was one of those players who you’d meet and never forget appeared first on Golf.

It’s cool that the players, most of them far too young to have known the man, call the Dallas stop the Byron Nelson. Here we cite officialdom: It’s the AT&T Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, per PGATour.com. Somebody has to pay the bills. (You get $1.46 million for winning and $17,000 for making the cut and finishing last.) Somebody has to provide the track, outside Dallas. (It’s a ClubCorp course, designed by Tom Weiskopf.) But the caddie shorthand has always been this:

“You guys playing Byron Nelson?”

“If he gets in.”

It’s neat to think that Tiger Woods knew Byron Nelson. Knew him well. Tiger won the ’97 Masters. His next tournament was Byron Nelson. He won that, too, Byron, the man, on hand to greet him.

The following April, Tiger treated all the old Masters champs — Nelson, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and the others — to Tuesday supper in the Augusta National clubhouse. Burger Nite, on Tiger. Byron was there, everybody in green.

Nelson was at the dinner again in 1999, 2000, ’01, ‘02, ‘03, ’04 and one last time in ’05. In all those years, he was the dinner’s de facto master of ceremonies. He died in 2006, at 94. Tiger’s father, Earl, died the same year.

Nelson was courtly. That was his thing, or one of his things. Nobody would call Tiger courtly. He’s intense, driven, relentless, big. Everybody’s different. Tiger liked hearing the stories. He liked hearing how things were, back in the day.

News

Tiger, all golf fans know, is not playing this week at the Nelson and he won’t be playing next week, at the PGA Championship at Kiawah. Nobody wants to say this, because it’s too depressing to consider, but after what Woods endured in his Feb. 23 early-morning, single-vehicle car crash, it’s going to be a long road to just playing in a tournament again, let alone winning one. A body can only take so much. A head, too.

Nelson won two PGA Championships, at match play. Too bad for Tiger the PGA of America decided, after the 1957 tournament, to play the PGA at stroke play. Woods is, by far, the greatest match-play golfer ever. (It’s an opinion, though I bet Brandel could prove it.) Still, when Woods won the 2007 PGA Championship at Southern Hills, noted Midwestern sweat box, that was his 13th major title and his fourth PGA win. He won by a shot over Sergio Garcia in 1999. He won after a three-hole playoff with Bob May in 2000. He won by five shots over Shaun Micheel in 2006. And he won by two shots over Woody Austin in 2007.

Thirteen majors. In one decade. By age 32.

I figured he could get to 19 professional major titles without ever winning another U.S. Open (tough on his driving game) or British Open (slow greens, fluky weather — not his thing). But you had to think he’d always know how to play and win Augusta. As for the PGA, in the appalling heat of mid-August, Tiger’s attitude was the best: bring it on. Hot suited him. No golfer was fitter than Tiger. Plus, Stevie was packing all those fancy hydration drinks.

Then everything changed, and the PGA Championship’s place on the calendar was just part of it. Tiger’s life, the parts we know about, has been tournament golf. Nobody in professional golf has ever retreated from public view when not playing as Tiger has.

News

Byron was a club pro. Not always in the stand-behind-the-counter sense, though he was that guy, too. At different times, with different titles, Nelson was the pro at Texarkana Country Club, in Arkansas; Ridgewood Country Club, in New Jersey; Reading Country Club, in Pennsylvania; and Inverness Club, in Ohio.

That’s a life that Tiger does not know, not from his side of the counter, not in a first-person way. Nothing wrong with that. Golf got big. Today, you can make a great living playing. Or teaching. Or managing the shop and the staff. Nelson, at different times, did all three.

Every year, there will be fewer players playing the Nelson who knew the man. That’s OK. That’s the march of time. Jordan Spieth knew Nelson. He met him, anyway. I did, too. (“Mr. Nelson, I’d like you to meet my caddie, Michael Bamberger.” Thursday, May 9, 1985, 1st tee, Los Colinas Sports Club, first round, Byron Nelson Golf Classic. My boss was Al Geiberger. True gent.) Byron was one of those people, one of those legends: you meet, it’s engraved forever.

The PGA Championship has a dinner for former winners. Someday, you hope, Tiger will be back at it, whether he’s playing in the event or not, sitting with young Collin Morikawa, telling him about Nelson, about what it was like to be in his presence. Tiger can talk about the man’s swing, his era, his aura, whatever he wishes. You hope that happens. It would be good for everybody.

Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments at Michael.Bamberger@Golf.com.

The post Why Byron Nelson was one of those players who you’d meet and never forget appeared first on Golf.

The post These were Byron Nelson’s ‘5 rules for playing to win’ appeared first on Golf.

The post These were Byron Nelson’s ‘5 rules for playing to win’ appeared first on Golf.

When it comes to players’ peaks, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more impressive one than Byron Nelson’s. Eighteen wins in 30 events (including 11 consecutive victories) has made his 1945 season the stuff of legend. And at the time, that made him a sensation far beyond the world of golf.

So, I jumped back into the archive to see if there were any fun tips that golfers today may be able to apply toward their own game and came back with this insightful article written by Byron Nelson in The Week.

Recounting his 1939 U.S. Open win — the one tournament Nelson said he always dreamed of winning — the eventual five-time major champ outlines what he says are his “five rules” for winning.

1. ‘The patience to practice interminably’

A common theme among the best players, regardless of era. Winning takes a lot of time and even more effort. You can’t fake your way to the top. You need to practice, practice, practice.

“It takes more than one sizzling round, par-shattering hole, one sensational shot to capture the Open. It takes years. … From tee to green, your game must be near-perfect, and the best golfer on earth has to practice continually. Fortunately, I developed the habit of constant practice as a kid back home. Like most golfers, I started out as a caddy, but unlike many of them, I wasn’t able to spend all of my early days on the links. When I finished with high school, I had to go to work as a file clerk in the accounting offices of the Fort Worth and Denver Railroad. My hours were 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and didn’t allow much time for golf. So I decided to ration my time. I would play on weekends and merely practice during the waning hours of sunlight on weekdays. And, believe me, I needed all the practice I could get.”

2. ‘The stamina to stand the physical strain of the coming three-day duel’

It’s interesting that Nelson mentions the importance of stamina as the second item here, because it’s something golfers — especially at the recreational level — probably take for granted.

Speaking back in the day when golf tournaments featured 36-hole final days, Nelson highlighted Sam Snead’s 1939 U.S. Open heartbreak as an example of why stamina is so important, and spoke personally about how an improved diet helped him.

“I know from experience how much stamina means to a golfer. When I first joined the touring troupe of pros back in the fall of 1933, I didn’t always have enough to eat. I started out with a small amount of cash — and the hope that I’d be able to win enough to pay my way as I went along. But the winnings were few and slim, and the expenses greater than I had figured. Frequently, to save my dwindling funds, I would forget breakfast or lunch and nibble on a chocolate bar, instead. As a result, some of the boys nicknamed me The Kandy Kid. They thought I had a sweet tooth, but they didn’t know the bitter facts. Now, with all due respect to the quick energy that is packed in a chocolate bar, it lacks the vitamins contained in thick steaks and green vegetables. I didn’t have sufficient strength and stamina. I would start off each tournament with a sensational under-70 round, and then I would go to pieces. Some observers laid my collapses to lack of heart. But it wasn’t heart trouble — it was stomach trouble. I knew what was the matter — and as soon as the necessary cash was on hand I concentrated on a sensible diet. The results were immediate and gratifying.”

3. ‘The coolness to enable you to concentrate on the business at hand’

While stamina of body is important, so is stamina of the mind. And that, Nelson says, requires healthy living both off the course — which includes forgoing the 19th hole, writing.

“The would-be Open winner must not only take stock of his golfing shots but also his mind and his body. He must practice control of his temper as well as his tee shots; develop iron nerves as well as iron shots. Only through careful living — regular hours, well-balanced diet, self-sacrifice — can a golfer attain and maintain steady nerves, a clear eye, and fatigue-proof muscles required for the awful grind.”

4. ‘The courage to fight back when the breaks are against you’

Golf being a game of misses, as the cliché goes, means things will not go your way more often than not. Nelson doesn’t specifically explain how to do that. Rather, his solution is a simple one: Practicing, earnestly and intently. Seizing the moment when an opportunity presents itself.

If golfers were ever fast livers and heavy drinkers, those days are gone forever. There are no roistering 19th holes where today’s professionals are concerned. Ralph Guldahl, two-time winner of the Open; Ben Hogan, star youngster of the past winter tour; Sammy Snead, high-money winner last year — to name a few — are all as serious and sober about their work as so many bookkeepers. They train for their tournaments with all the intensity of a prize fighter preparing for a fifteen-round battle.”

5. ‘The competitive urge to help you play hardest when the most depends’

Finally — and perhaps most importantly — Nelson says not to shrink from the enormity of a pressure-packed situation, but instead to rise to it. Recognize the moment for what it is, practice for it, and embrace it.

“Never had I been so close to this most prized and profitable of all golf titles. As I walked up to the ball I thought that I should feel nervous, or at least, somewhat awed. But instead I had a strange feeling that all of this had happened before. At first I couldn’t understand the why. But then I remembered as a skinny kid back home in Fort Worth I used to caddy on the local courses and now and then would sneak in a couple of rounds with the other caddies. We played in dead earnestness, we kids. For instance, whenever we had a putt of eight or nine feet we’d say, ‘Well, fellows. I’ve got this one to make to win the National Open!’ and then, in all seriousness, we’d step up and tap it in. At least, we would some of the times. I must have said ‘Well, this is for the Open’ hundreds of times in make-believe. And now here I was, saying it to myself again — only this time for keeps.”

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The post ‘This had to happen’: Why the AT&T Byron Nelson is leaving Trinity Forest after only a three-year run appeared first on Golf.

The post ‘This had to happen’: Why the AT&T Byron Nelson is leaving Trinity Forest after only a three-year run appeared first on Golf.

The PGA Tour is moving the AT&T Byron Nelson out of Trinity Forest Golf Club after the 2020 tournament in May, ending a star-crossed three-year run at the Bill Coore-Ben Crenshaw neo-links course south of downtown Dallas

An official announcement is scheduled for Sunday. The Dallas Morning News first reported the news late Saturday.

“I’ve been counting the days that this would happen,” Ryan Palmer, a Texas-born PGA Tour winner who lives in the Dallas suburbs, told GOLF.com.

“I may get in trouble for saying this, but there was no energy, no excitement, and no crowds to watch. We went from the No. 1 Tour event in excitement and charity giving to wherever we are now. This had to happen.”

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Many factors contributed to the club’s demise as a Tour site, including unpredictable weather, a lack of shade, infrastructure and off-course hospitality venues, and a dearth of A-list players. All of that hurt the sponsoring Salesmanship Club of Dallas’ ability to raise funds for its charity, the Momentous Institute, which provides education and therapy services for local children and is the sole beneficiary of the event’s net proceeds.

Tyler Dennis, the Tour’s chief of operations, told the Morning News, that the Tour was evaluating other venues that would ensure a “premium fan experience.”

While the Tour has not yet selected a new North Texas site for 2021, the early favorite is a return to the TPC-Four Seasons Resort, which successfully played host to the event for 35 years.

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“We have never shut that door on the relationship,” said Maura Allen Gast, executive director of the Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau, which has been heavily involved in the event during its years in Dallas.

“We have said from the beginning we want what is best for the kids at the Momentous Institute and if that is the case we are happy,” Gast said.

Palmer supports the idea of returning the event to the recently renovated Las Calinas course at the TPC-Four Seasons.

“Just move it back to the Four Seasons and leave it there,” he said. “To look at the crowds and the people there, I wish I had a picture of the people there in our last year compared to Trinity Forest.”

The PGA of America is building two championship golf courses with architects Gil Hanse and Beau Welling in Frisco, just north of Dallas, but they will not be ready until at least 2022.

The AT&T Byron Nelson's move comes only a short time after it moved to Trinity Forest, but was no surprise to those around the event.

Getty Images

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While the Salesmanship Club has run the tournament since 1969, using the namesake of local legend Byron Nelson, the date and authority to hold an event is owned by the PGA Tour.

The Tour informed Salesmanship Club and Trinity Forest officials in the fall that it was considering a course change, but a final decision was not made until last week.

“You know this doesn’t happen quickly, but it was finalized very recently,” a longtime Salesmanship Club member told GOLF.com.

Also uncertain is the status title sponsor AT&T, the prime corporation behind the move to Trinity Forest, which is close to its Dallas headquarters.

Unfortunate to see @dallasnews report that the Nelson is leaving Trinity Forest after just 3 years. Logistics there aren't ideal, and May in Dallas rarely equates to firm & fast. But golf fans are well-served when top players face outside-the-box venues like TF.

— Will Gray (@WillGrayGolfbet) January 12, 2020

An AT&T spokesman told the Morning News that the company’s “commitment to the community and tournament continues today,” but also that its initial title sponsorship deal expires after the 2021 tournament.

AT&T is the largest sponsor in dollars on the PGA Tour with title sponsorships at the Byron Nelson and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February, plus a major TV sponsorship at the Masters in April.

The company used its considerable corporate leverage with the Tour to get the tournament moved away from the Four Seasons to Trinity Forest, a treeless design that opened in 2014 on City of Dallas land that was a former toxic landfill.

At the time Dallas mayor Mike Rawlins touted the project as a unique public-private partnership, but the name Tour players never came out, and the fans didn’t, either. The Salesmanship Club reported charitable donations dropped by more than half from what the Four Seasons event generated, down to less than $3 million a year.

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Former PGA Tour winner Harrison Frazar, a Texas native who was heavily involved in Trinity Forest landing the Byron Nelson, said the fundraising struggles drove the final decision.

“It’s all about the kids and what is best for the event,” he said.

The 2018 tournament was won by then-rookie Aaron Wise, with only four of the top 20 players in the world competing. Only two of the top 20, Dallas’ Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka, competed in the 2019 event won by Sung Kang.

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The post ‘This had to happen’: Why the AT&T Byron Nelson is leaving Trinity Forest after only a three-year run appeared first on Golf.

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