After Golf Icon’s Death, Tournament Loses Its Luster
By KAREN CROUSE
IRVING, Tex. — The larger-than-life bronze statue of Byron Nelson near the first tee at the T.P.C. Four Seasons Resort depicts him in glasses and a porkpie hat, leaning on his driver with his left leg crossed over his right. The statue is burnished, but the shine is off his tournament.
In 2006, the Byron Nelson Championship attracted 6 of the top 10 golfers in the world rankings, though, in a piece of foreshadowing, none of the top three took part. Four months after greeting that year’s winner, Brett Wetterich, as he came off the 18th green, Nelson, a 52-time Tour winner, died at the age of 94.
When the man who was called Lord Byron died, the tournament lost its No. 1 drawing card. His legacy and his handwritten invitations had been a powerful lure. The highest-ranked player in this year’s event is Hunter Mahan, at No. 17, and Y. E. Yang is the only other entrant ranked in the top 20.
The golfer with the biggest local following did not even tee it up here on Thursday. Tony Romo, the Dallas Cowboys’ starting quarterback, was on a course 10 miles away competing in an 18-hole sectional qualifier for the United States Open.
Rory Sabbatini, who opened defense of his title Thursday with a two-under-par 68, said he was “a little disappointed” in the player turnout.
“With Peggy being here and representing it,” he said, referring to Nelson’s widow, “I see it in a sense as being a little disrespectful to Byron Nelson’s name. My opinion is, if you won this event, it should be an honor to come back here.”
Former champions who are not in this year’s field include Tiger Woods, who has not been back since his PGA Tour streak of 142 consecutive made cuts ended here in 2005; Phil Mickelson, whose wife, Amy, is undergoing another round of chemotherapy this week; Adam Scott, who is taking the week off after winning the Texas Open; and Ernie Els, who is at the BMW PGA Championship in England, a premier event on the European Tour schedule.
Rare is the player like Corey Pavin, the 50-year-old United States Ryder Cup captain who is making his 23rd tournament appearance. “If, in fact, the field is not as good as it was, it’s sad,” Pavin said, “because I would like to see this field stay strong.”
Peggy Nelson, dressed like the other volunteers in a white short-sleeve shirt and blue shorts, said she recognized that all great fields must eventually come to an end.
“I really understand with all of the prize money out there and with their family obligations and other things they have to do, they cannot be expected to play every week everywhere,” she said, adding, “We have a full field of mostly millionaires, I think, and they’re all great golfers.”
The 156-man field includes Briny Baird, who has one top-three finish in five seasons, during which time he has earned more than $11.3 million. Byron Nelson, who had 117 top-three finishes in 281 events, had career earnings of $201,085, which is what a player finishing alone in eighth place will earn this week.
Also in the field is Brad Faxon, who shared a priceless memory of Nelson from 1996. A few days after he finished second at the Tour Championship and was interviewed on television, Faxon received a handwritten note from Nelson, who said, “You’re a fine man.”
Faxon said, “I’ll never forget that in my life: the fact that he would take the time to write something like that.”
This is Faxon’s 12th appearance here. He missed a few years, he said, because the tournament coincided with the birthday of one of his daughters, who turned 19 last week. “I haven’t been the most loyal of participants,” Faxon said, “but it was because of my daughter’s birthday and Byron knew that. If anyone understood about putting family first, it was him.”
Mahan, 28, whose own interactions with Nelson were limited to the postround handshakes, said it was impossible to play here and not feel a deep connection to Nelson.
“It’s always special to have a legend of the game and the history that he had kind of brought to this tournament,” said Mahan, who made the first of seven consecutive appearances here in 2004. “It’s neat to have Byron live through this tournament.”
AI
