GOLF / MAL FLORENCE : Nelson Simply Did What Came Naturally

Byron Nelson recalled that the first PGA-sanctioned event he played in was the Los Angeles Open at Wilshire Country Club in 1933.

A young pro then, Nelson had to settle for a tie for 16th and earned $34.50.

It was a modest start for one of golf’s legendary players. A dozen years later, in 1945, he set records that might never be broken.

He won 18 tournaments that year--11 in a row. No one on the regular tour has won more than four tournaments in a calendar year since Tom Watson won six in 1980.

As for the victory streak, Jackie Burke is a distant second with four in 1952.

Nelson, 81, lives on a ranch in Roanoke, Tex., and has written his autobiography, “How I Played the Game.”

In the book, he tells of his days as a caddie in Texas, when he won a club caddie championship at 14 from another youngster, Ben Hogan, and helped to invent the modern golf shoe and the bulge-shaped head of a driver.

What is remarkable about his career is that Nelson virtually retired as a player at 34. These days, many players are reaching their peak then. His last active year on the tour was 1946.

In a phone interview, Nelson was asked why he retired when he was the dominant player in the game.

He said his decision was in part influenced by winning the L.A. Open in 1946 at Riviera Country Club. It was a tournament he hadn’t won in 10 previous appearances.

“I couldn’t read the greens at Riviera,” Nelson said. “They said everything broke to the ocean, but I couldn’t figure out where the ocean was.

“One of my goals in my career was to win every important tournament in the United States at least once. The L.A. Open was the last tournament to fulfill my ambition.

“When I won the L.A. Open in 1946, that accomplished the goals I had set: Ryder Cup team, leading money winner, leading scorer and most tournaments won.

“I quit the tour because I was tired of playing and I got the ranch I wanted. I wanted to come here and stay awhile. The only time I worked on my game was for the British Open in 1955, but I couldn’t read the greens and finished 12th.

“Then, I went to the French Open and won. It was the last tournament I ever played in.”

When Nelson was on his record-breaking spree in 1945, most of his earnings were awarded in war bonds, which he cashed for only 75% of their value.

His total earnings in 1945 were $63,335. That was $3,000 less than three players earned for finishing in a tie for second in this year’s L.A. Open.

Nelson said that most of the players on the tour when he was playing were self-taught and up from the caddie ranks.

He added that he believes that golf is over-instructed now for the average player.

“We need to know the fundamentals, but everyone feels that they should swing like somebody else,” he said.

“I learned how to play golf myself, and so did Hogan and (Sam) Snead. You need to play a game where you’re comfortable with your rhythm.

“When I started working with Tom Watson, people said if I could ever make him swing slower, he’d be a great player. But I never tried to make him swing slower because I knew Tom. His mind is like a steel trap. He moves fast and thinks fast. And if you try to make him swing slowly, you disrupt his natural-born rhythm.

“Nick Price has a fast swing, but everything moves together. Jack Nicklaus and Fred Couples don’t swing fast, and they’re great players. To make a man with a fast rhythm go slow, he won’t develop that well, and the same with a man with a slow rhythm to make him go fast.

“You want to be as natural as picking up a fork and eating steak.

“When I first started playing, I got credit for using the feet and legs in the swing. Even Gene Sarazen said I wouldn’t be a good player because I used my feet and legs too much. But I didn’t change that because that was my normal way of moving. And it was fairly successful.”

Fairly successful translates to 61 victories, 54 in PGA-sanctioned events; winning the Masters in 1937 and 1942, the U.S. Open in 1939 and the PGA Championship in 1940 and 1945.

Nelson is also in the record book for lowest scoring average, 68.33, and for 19 consecutive rounds under 70 in 1945.

As for the pressure of maintaining his winning streak in 1945, Nelson said:

“The numbers didn’t bother me. You’ve got to beat the same guys, and it’s tough to beat them. I wasn’t thinking that I won six in a row and now I have to win seven. I didn’t dwell on it at all.”

And he has no regrets about not continuing to play regularly after the mid-1940s.

“If I had continued to play, I wouldn’t have been on ABC for 12 years, I wouldn’t have been on Lincoln-Mercury’s sports panel for 10 years, and I wouldn’t have had the wonderful tournament we have in Dallas in my name,” Nelson said. “I have been in about every facet of golf and I’m grateful.”

Golf Notes

Mike Miller, the former pro at Mountain Gate Country Club, is the new head pro at Riviera. He replaces Peter Oosterhuis. . . . The 16th annual UCLA invitational tournament is scheduled Thursday at Industry Hills. . . . The Dave Taylor golf tournament will be held June 28 at North Ranch CC in Westlake Village. The tournament will benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. . . . The 70th annual Los Angeles City women’s tournament will be held today through Thursday at Rancho Park Golf Course. Mary Budke is the defending champion. . . . The four-day, 58th annual Pasadena Amateur Championship will begin Thursday at Brookside Golf Course.

El Caballero CC in Tarzana will be the site of Monty Hall’s seventh annual tournament on May 24. The event will benefit the United States Maccabiah Games team. . . . Vince Ferragamo’s 11th annual Special Olympics celebrity tournament will be played June 8 at Los Coyotes CC. . . . The Greater Los Angeles tournament to benefit the National Jewish Center for Immunology and Respiratory Medicine is scheduled June 7 at Wood Ranch Golf Club in Simi Valley. . . . The Golf Channel has acquired broadcast rights to LPGA events from 1994 through 1998.