EDS Byron Nelson Championship

The EDS Byron Nelson Championship is named after the larger than life Texan with 52 career PGA Tour victories, five major championships — 1937 Masters, 1939 U.S. Open, 1940 PGA Championship, 1942 Masters and 1945 PGA Championship — and the longest winning streak in PGA Tour history.

In 1945, Nelson won 18 tournaments, including 11 consecutive victories spanning from March to August. The season is considered one of the best in the history of the sport, ranking alongside Bobby Jones’ Grand Slam (U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur, British Open and British Amateur) in 1930, Ben Hogan’s five-of-six with three majors in 1953 and Tiger Woods’ nine-win, three-major start to the “Tiger Slam” in 2000.

Referred to as “Lord Byron” by many, Nelson was respected by all. More rancher than golfer, the humble pro retired in 1946 at the age of 34 having already produced a Hall of Fame career. After retiring, Nelson became a part-time commentator; but his primary role was hosting an annual tournament in Texas.

Nelson won the inaugural event, the Texas Victory Open, in 1944 and was followed by Sam Snead (Dallas Open in 1945) and Ben Hogan (Dallas Invitational in 1946) in the Lone Star State winner’s circle the next two years. It was not the first time that the three had tremendous symmetry — Nelson (b. Feb. 4, 1912), Snead (b. May 27, 1912), Hogan (b. August 13, 1912) were all born within roughly six months of each other.

The tournament became the first PGA Tour event to be named after a player in 1968 and has carried Byron Nelson’s name ever since. The EDS Byron Nelson Championship is the eighth-oldest PGA Tour event held in the U.S., trailing only the BMW Championship (1899), Valero Texas Open (1922), Nissan Open (1926), FBR Open (1935), AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (1937), Wyndham Championship (1938) and Zurich Classic of New Orleans (1938).

From legendary roots, the EDS Byron Nelson Championship has grown into a tournament with a $6.4 million total purse and $1,152,000 winner’s share. And this year, the newly renovated 7,166-yard, Par-70 TPC Four Seasons Resort at Las Colinas in Irving, Texas, hosts the tournament exclusively, rather than the multi-course format of previous years.

With a new look on every hole, including new turf and a new underground irrigation system, the Las Colinas course was redesigned by Texas-based D.A. Weibring, along with partner Steve Walford and help from PGA pros J.J. Henry and Harrison Frazar.

“So far, I think the feeling is that Byron would be really proud,” said Weibring. “That was our one focus – to make him proud.”

Prior to last season, champions like Jack Nicklaus (1970, ’71), Chi Chi Rodriguez (1972), Tom Watson (1975, ’78-80), Ben Crenshaw (1983), Fred Couples (1987), Payne Stewart (1990), Ernie Els (1995), Phil Mickelson (1996), Tiger Woods (1997), Vijay Singh (2003) and Sergio Garcia (2004) would be congratulated by Nelson himself following a victory. The proud post-round handshake was likely more valuable than even the trophy.

Last year, Scott Verplank became the first EDS Byron Nelson Championship winner not to enjoy the honor, following Nelson’s passing on Sept. 26, 2006, at the age of 94. It was a shame, since Verplank referred to Lord Byron’s tournament as his “fifth major” and became only the third native Texan to win the event in the last 43 years — joining Crenshaw (1983) and Billy Ray Brown (1992).

This year’s star-studded field includes Masters champ Trevor Immelman, last year’s EDS Byron Nelson Championship runner-up Luke Donald, past Nelson winners Jesper Parnevik (2000) and Garcia (2004), as well as Texas native Justin Leonard and international stars Adam Scott, Ian Poulter and Rory Sabbatini.

The GOLF Channel will televise the first two rounds of the event on Thursday and Friday (3:00-6:00 p.m. ET), before CBS takes over the weekend coverage (3:00-6:00 p.m. ET).