The year is 1945, Byron Nelson wins 11 in a row...

[tourdeep]

In the latest issue of GolfWorld, there is a tribute to Byron Nelson. In it, there is a breakdown of the tournaments he played and where he placed. What's amazing is how he completely dominated that season like no other in the history of golf.

That year, I know he won 11 in a row.

That year, I also know he won 18 tournaments.

What I didn't know was of the 30 tournaments Byron played, the lowest he finished was a tie for 9th place. That means he had 30 top ten finishes in 30 tournaments played. That's incredible, but even more astonishing than this incredible feat is...

He finished either tied (once) or in 2nd 7 times, and placed 3rd once. So, if my math is correct, of the 30 tournaments played, he placed third or higher 26 times in the 30 tournaments played!

truly amazing!

 

[birdie_man]

And.....he retired right after that season.

Crazy.

When I read that I realized that the dude doesn't get enough credit in most "greatest golfer ever" talk.

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

It isn't THAT remarkable (the 30 top ten finishes). You could ask Byron if he was still around and he'd even admit that there were only 5-6 other guys to beat INCLUDING HIM.

So you'd think he should always be finishing top ten unless he did something rather stupid.

 

[davidmac00]

small fields eh?

It isn't THAT remarkable (the 30 top ten finishes). You could ask Byron if he was still around and he'd even admit that there were only 5-6 other guys to beat INCLUDING HIM.

So you'd think he should always be finishing top ten unless he did something rather stupid.

yeah,its a pity the PGA TOUR limited the fields that year to 6 players!!!!!!!!!!his scoring average that year was also unsurprisingly low as they decided to let the guys play from the ladies tees!!!
dave.

 

[211pro]

Something else to consider...

..in all this discussion is the fact that we were still in WW II in 1945, and the players were using golf balls that were 4 and 5 years old, because golf balls were not being produced during the war years. NOW how do you like his statistics for that year!!

 

[tourdeep]

barry bonds responds

yeah,its a pity the PGA TOUR limited the fields that year to 6 players!!!!!!!!!!his scoring average that year was also unsurprisingly low as they decided to let the guys play from the ladies tees!!!
dave.

stroke average for that year was 68.34, a record that stood til tiger broke it in 2k.

final round stroke average 67.45, not bad.

and Love's win last week, weak field, weak win? (*)

Yes, argued that it is somewhat diminished, so throw an asterisk next to Byron for the war and let the debate continue for years to come...

A record is a record is a record...Oh, Barry