GOLF / THOMAS BONK : No Media Sideshow for Nelson

Byron Nelson quietly observed the 50th anniversary of the first of his 11 consecutive tournament victories Saturday, relaxing at his vacation home near New Braunfels, Tex.

The biggest plans Nelson had were for his wife, Peggy, to pop some corn, then join him for some TV watching.

It was a much different scene from the one that surrounded Nelson in 1945, as his streak grew toward 11. But he said the interest he received wasn’t all that strong early.

“I didn’t get a lot of attention about it, at least not at first,” he said. “I got some, of course, but I really didn’t get any attention at all until I got to about No. 6, at Montreal.

“You can’t imagine how poor communications were in those days. Sure, we had the newspapers, the Associated Press, but even when we went on radio, we had to go to town.

“I remember in 1940, when (Ben) Hogan and I tied at the Texas Open in San Antonio on Sunday, we were going to have a playoff on Monday and had to go into town to WOAI to be on the radio. There were no tape recorders.”

Nelson said when he won the Masters in 1937, he was interviewed by one reporter, O.B. Keeler, and that was in the locker room.

Nelson said the first time he saw walkie-talkies used on a golf course was at the PGA at Dayton, Ohio, in 1945. There was a military base in Dayton, and the soldiers who worked as marshals carried them.

Even at the high point of his streak, Nelson doesn’t remember the media attention being all that intense.

“The war was winding down and that was the focus of the news coverage, no matter what happened in sports,” he said.

The 11 consecutive tournament victories is a PGA Tour record. No one else has won even five in a row. In the last 15 years, only one player has won three straight, Nick Price in 1993.

“Eleven straight, it’s not possible to do it again,” Tom Kite said. “That’s like a 56-game hitting streak and every hit is a home run.”

Nelson said he was able to keep his mind on his task during the streak, although concentrating as he did surprised him a little.

“I did not ever say in my mind, ‘Well, I’ve won six, now can I win seven?’ I didn’t think that way,” he said. “That was to my advantage, definitely.

“I look back on it now. The fact is, to play as well as I was playing, you have got to be focused on one thing--that shot, next shot, next shot.

“If you look ahead, you’re going to mess up. That was the reason I was able to stay focused. I don’t know why I didn’t, but I’m surprised I didn’t think about it more.”

*

Sarazen says: Gene Sarazen and Ben Hogan tied for second at Chicago, where Nelson won his 10th in a row in 1945. Sarazen said Hogan didn’t care very much for Nelson.

“I remember, Hogan andd I were riding back into town in a taxi looking at our second-place checks ($5,666),” said Sarazen, 93, from his winter home at Marco Island, Fla.

“Hogan said ‘When I get out of this uniform, I’ll have him retiring.”’

*

Back, back, back: Fred Couples withdrew from this weekend’s Honda Classic at Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., because of a recurrence of last year’s back injury, but he says he thinks he will be ready to play this week at the Nestle Invitational at Bay Hill.

Couples, who ruptured a disk in his lower back and was out three months, re-injured his back during the third round of the Nissan L.A. Open when he hit a shot out of the rough.

*

They’re here: Nick Price and Ian Woosnam made their 1995 tour debuts at the Honda Classic. Price, who won the British Open and the PGA Championship last year, plans to play straight through the Masters, as does Woosnam.

*

Golf notes:

For what it’s worth, Nick Faldo’s victory at Doral last week brought him $270,000--$45,000 more than he earned for winning the Masters in 1990. . . . Patty Sheehan, Nancy Lopez, Laura Davies and Dottie Mochrie will play in the $540,000 JCPenney/LPGA Skins Game May 27-28 at Stonebriar Country Club in Frisco, Tex. It will be shown on ABC.

The top 10 in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings: Corey Pavin, Tom Lehman, Phil Mickelson, Kenny Perry, Loren Roberts, Peter Jacobsen, Fuzzy Zoeller, Bill Glasson, Tom Kite and Craig Stadler. Lanny Wadkins, the captain, will choose two more. Fred Couples is tied for 23rd. The top 10 for the European team are Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Colin Montgomerie, Jose Maria Olazabal, Ian Woosnam, Constantino Rocca, David Gilford, Per-Ulrik Johansson, Miguel Angel Jiminez and Sam Torrance. Faldo is 13th. The Ryder Cup will be played Sept. 22-24 at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y.

Steve Garvey, Dave Taylor and Johnny Mathis are among those who will play in the NutraSweet Classic celebrity golf tournament March 20 at El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana. The event benefits the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International.