Larry Nelson -- Golf's 'Rodney Dangerfield'

[Yoda]

Remember the comedian Rodney Dangerfield and his identifying lament?

"I don't get no respect." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney_Dangerfield



Well, the same could be said of Larry Nelson.

Last night I caught The Golf Channel's promotional video of their upcoming U. S. Open coverage entitled Memorable Moments Happen At Oakmont. The spot highlighted the following 'memorable moments:'

Hogan Over Snead (1953)

Nicklaus Over Palmer (1962)

Johnny Miller's Round for the Ages (1973)

Ernie Els Playoff Win (1994)

Once again, Larry Nelson (1983) was passed over, just as he was time and again for the Ryder Cup captaincy that was rightfully his. Much has been made of Johnny Miller's 7-under closing 63, but am I the only one who remembers that Larry won his Open at Oakmont with arguably the two greatest finishing rounds in major championship history? In the endless hours of commentary surrounding this year's event, has anybody else heard anything about his incredible feat?

All Larry did in 1983 was go 65-67=132 -- 10-under par on "the toughest test in golf" (TGC's words). And he did it under the intense pressure that is the U. S. Open. With rounds in the 80s commonplace that weekend at Oakmont, his performance remains the record low final 36-holes in U. S. Open history.

Revisit the action here in the Oakmont History Vignettes at the official USGA site: http://www.usopen.com/2007/multimedia/video/oakmont/

But don't look for Larry in the photo identifying his own 'vignette' (as was the case with each of the other nine featured winners). No sir, he's not there. Instead, we see runner-up Tom Watson.

As I said...

No respect.

[6bmike]

They did a small piece on him this morning- I think it was the PGA show (I don't watch TGC much anymore). Nice stroke. But yes, he is overlooked all the time. Billy Casper, too.

[EdStraker]

One of the facts that impressed me was Larry Nelson didn't take up the game until he was in his 20s. To go on and then qualify for the PGA tour and win multiple majors speaks for itself.

[asleep]

...Larry Nelson...
...All Larry did in 1983 was go 65-67=132 -- 10-under par on "the toughest test in golf" (TGC's words). And he did it under the intense pressure that is the U. S. Open. With rounds in the 80s commonplace that weekend at Oakmont, his performance remains the record low final 36-holes in U. S. Open history...

Wow!

Did not know that, thx.

[asleep]

http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/...5847-0,00.html

The Invisible Man
Larry Nelson, overlooked for most of his career, looks back at his 1983 U.S. Open victory at Oakmont

By Gary Van Sickle
Senior Writer, Sports Illustrated
Published: May 28, 2007

Kiawah Island, S.C. — He is a Hall of Famer now and has been for more than a year, so you can say yes, Larry Nelson finally got his due. He won two PGA Championships and a U.S. Open, was a Ryder Cup killer with a 9-3-1 record and was considered one of the tour's best ballstrikers, especially with middle irons, for years. His place in history is secure.

Realistically, though, he still seems like golf's Invisible Man. There was the Ryder Cup captaincy pass-over, when he was apparently next in line for the job but curiously didn't get it. There is his still-lingering image as "vanilla," when in fact he's one of the more interesting interviews in the game. There's the case of the missing highlights. You want to watch video of Nelson winning the Open at Oakmont in 1983? You can find highlight videos for every other year, but if you want to watch clips of Nelson's win, you have to snag the 1982 U.S. Open video. There's a pathetically small amount of footage of Nelson winning the next year attached at the end.

There was the rip-job done on him by an eccentric, long-gone Pittsburgh columnist who blasted him for being boring while shooting 65-67 in the last two rounds to win the '83 Open, when he outdueled Tom Watson. Trust me, 65-67 is never boring at Oakmont.

Now add the Golf Channel, which touts itself as the home of golf, to the list of those snubbing Nelson. Have you seen Golf Channel's promo for its upcoming U.S. Open coverage at Oakmont? The spot is lathered thick with Oakmont history — images of Ben Hogan in '53, Jack Nicklaus in '62, Johnny Miller in '73 and Ernie Els in '94. They are all shown, and all of Oakmont's Open champions from the past half-century are mentioned. Except for Nelson.

Say it again for effect: Except for Nelson.

"I told my wife, just tell my why they would leave out '83?" Nelson said. "Is there somebody out there saying, 'Let's not mention Larry.' I mean, I beat two of the best players in the world that week — Seve Ballesteros and Tom Watson. I'm actually going to call the Golf Channel and say, just for my benefit, I'd like to know. I could care less. I'm done and all that stuff, but this is what's happened throughout my career. Somebody inside the Golf Channel, just tell me why you would leave my name out. I don't care, but why? Why?"

...READ THE BODY OF THIS ARTICLE BY CLICKING HERE...

..."When I played there in '83 and was looking at some of the winners who seemed so old, you thought about Nicklaus and Hogan," Nelson said. "Now they're playing there in 2007, and I'm the old guy. I'm the one who won it way back in 1983."

Indeed, he did. Somebody tell the Golf Channel.

http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/...5847-0,00.html

[Yoda]

Thanks for posting this, asleep. I hadn't seen the article, nor had I talked to Larry. I just saw the promo for the first time last night, and it just jumped out at me that Larry's tremendous accomplishment had been ignored. I vowed to write a post on it the next morning and did. Glad to know somebody else caught the same thing.

[Yoda]

One of the facts that impressed me was Larry Nelson didn't take up the game until he was in his 20s. To go on and then qualify for the PGA tour and win multiple majors speaks for itself.

Larry Nelson is both a friend and fellow member at Atlanta Country Club. Some 25 years ago, when he was in his prime and as we walked from the club's practice tee, I asked him if his goal was to become 'the greatest golfer of all time.' He reflected a moment and said...

"Well, maybe the greatest ever who began the game at age 21. "

Larry is a private man with private goals.

So far as I can tell, this one gets a checkmark.

[asleep]

Larry Nelson--I asked him if his goal was to become 'the greatest golfer of all time.' He reflected a moment and said...

"Well, maybe the greatest ever who began the game at age 21..."

Hmmm..... so I could become the greatest ever who picked up the game past 40 years of age???

I have my BHAG!

[Yoda]

Hmmm..... so I could become the greatest ever who picked up the game past 40 years of age???

I have my BHAG!

http://www.usga.org/championships/ap...orms/midam.pdf

They'll have one next year, too.

Just do it.

[alex_chung]

That has always flumoxed me why Larry Nelson was never considered a great player even after his Major wins. You never really hear much about him via the press. Maybe it is because he is a private guy and just goes about his business quietly.
Thanks for the link to the article.
Alex