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Larry Nelson

United States · born , Fort Payne, Alabama, USA

3major championships

Summary

  • First major 1981 PGA Championship
  • Last major 1987 PGA Championship
  • Ryder Cup 3 Cups · 9-3-1 · 9.5 points (73.1%)

Wins

  1. 1981 PGA Championship Atlanta Athletic Club (Highlands Course) · 273 (-7) · by 4 strokes from Fuzzy Zoeller
  2. 1983 U.S. Open Oakmont C.C. · 280 (-4) · by 1 stroke from Tom Watson
  3. 1987 PGA Championship PGA National Golf Club (Champion course) · 287 (-1) · won a playoff against Lanny Wadkins

Ryder Cup

3 Cups, 13 matches: 9 won, 3 lost, 1 halved, 9.5 points. Foursomes 4-2-0, four-ball 3-1-0, singles 2-0-1.

  1. 1979 The Greenbrier (Greenbrier Course) USA · USA won 17–11 · 5-0-0, 5 points · automatic
  2. 1981 Walton Heath Golf Club USA · USA won 18.5–9.5 · 4-0-0, 4 points · automatic (major or match-play champion berth)
  3. 1987 Muirfield Village Golf Club USA · Europe won 15–13 · 0-3-1, 0.5 points · automatic (major or match-play champion berth)

Rivals

Beaten in finals and playoffs

Ryder Cup partners

Ryder Cup opponents

Next in the chain: Lanny Wadkins' rivals →

Moments

  1. 1981 PGA Championship Lee Trevino was disqualified for failing to sign his first-round scorecard after posting a 74.
  2. 1981 PGA Championship Larry Nelson shot 66-66 in the middle rounds to lead by four, then won by four over Fuzzy Zoeller for his first major.
  3. 1987 PGA Championship Nelson beat Lanny Wadkins on the first sudden-death hole, the 409-yard 10th, when Wadkins missed a four-foot par putt after Nelson holed from six feet.
  4. 1987 PGA Championship The final round was played in a 97-degree high with 84% humidity, and Nelson's 287 (−1) was then the highest winning score in PGA Championship history.
  5. 1979 Ryder Cup Larry Nelson went 5-0-0, the first player to win five matches at one Ryder Cup, and four of those wins came against Seve Ballesteros.

Records and firsts

  1. 1987 PGA Championship highest winning score · 287 (-1)
  2. — Ryder Cup 5-0-0 in one Cup (Gardner Dickinson (1967), Arnold Palmer (1967), Larry Nelson (1979), Francesco Molinari (2018), Dustin Johnson (2021))
  3. — Ryder Cup Most wins by a rookie (Gardner Dickinson; Larry Nelson)

Results by championship

    Best day

    1987 PGA Championship

    PGA National Golf Club (Champion course), Palm Beach Gardens, Florida · 287 (-1) · won a playoff against Lanny Wadkins (Nelson 4 (par); Wadkins missed a four-foot par putt (score unknown))

    Nelson beat Lanny Wadkins on the first sudden-death hole, the 409-yard 10th, when Wadkins missed a four-foot par putt after Nelson holed from six feet.

    The final round was played in a 97-degree high with 84% humidity, and Nelson's 287 (−1) was then the highest winning score in PGA Championship history.

    Record: highest winning score · 287 (-1)

    Chosen by rule: the major win our record tables single out. Year page: 1987.

    Career line, 1979–1987

    PGA Championship
    1981 PGA Championship: won1987 PGA Championship: won
    U.S. Open
    1983 U.S. Open: won
    Ryder Cup
    1979 Ryder Cup (USA): 5-0-01981 Ryder Cup (USA): 4-0-01987 Ryder Cup (USA): 0-3-1
    19801982198419861988

    6 results. Hover or tap a mark; click it for the year.

    • Major win
    • Ryder Cup, USA

    Larry Nelson was born on September 10, 1947, in Fort Payne, Alabama, USA. Nelson won 3 major championships: 2 PGA Championships (1981, 1987) and 1 U.S. Open (1983). Nelson played in 3 Ryder Cups for USA (1979, 1981, 1987), winning 9, losing 3 and halving 1 of 13 matches for 9.5 points.

    See Larry Nelson in our rooms: U.S. Open, Greatest Golfer by State and Every Ground.

    Cards you pull this visit stack here. Tap one to go back to it.

    The record

    Wins in the majors (3)

    1. 1981 PGA Championship Atlanta Athletic Club (Highlands Course), Duluth, Georgia · 273 (-7) · by 4 strokes from Fuzzy Zoeller
    2. 1983 U.S. Open Oakmont C.C., Oakmont, PA · 280 (-4) · by 1 stroke from Tom Watson
    3. 1987 PGA Championship PGA National Golf Club (Champion course), Palm Beach Gardens, Florida · 287 (-1) · won a playoff against Lanny Wadkins (Nelson 4 (par); Wadkins missed a four-foot par putt (score unknown))

    Near misses

      U.S. Open top-10 finishes in his career: 3 (GNN U.S. Open room data).

      Ryder Cup

      Nelson played 3 Ryder Cups for USA: 13 matches, 9 won, 3 lost, 1 halved, 9.5 points (73.1% of those available). By format: foursomes 4-2-0, four-ball 3-1-0, singles 2-0-1 (won-lost-halved).

      1. 1979 The Greenbrier (Greenbrier Course) USA · USA won 17–11 · 5-0-0, 5 points · automatic
      2. 1981 Walton Heath Golf Club USA · USA won 18.5–9.5 · 4-0-0, 4 points · automatic (major or match-play champion berth)
      3. 1987 Muirfield Village Golf Club USA · Europe won 15–13 · 0-3-1, 0.5 points · automatic (major or match-play champion berth)

      Partners, with matches played together: Lanny Wadkins (6), Tom Kite (2), Lee Trevino (1), Payne Stewart (1).

      Records and firsts

      Rows from our record tables that name this player, worded as the tables word them.

      1. 1987 PGA Championship highest winning score · 287 (-1)
      2. — Ryder Cup 5-0-0 in one Cup (Gardner Dickinson (1967), Arnold Palmer (1967), Larry Nelson (1979), Francesco Molinari (2018), Dustin Johnson (2021))
      3. — Ryder Cup Most wins by a rookie (Gardner Dickinson; Larry Nelson)

      Sources

      Every fact on this page comes from Golf Network News data sets compiled in October 2026 (Masters, PGA Championship, The Open, U.S. Women's Open, Ryder Cup, PGA Tour 2024–2026, major host sites, Champions Dinner menus, and the U.S. Open and state rooms). These are the sources those rows cite.

      1. where2golf
      2. Golf Compendium PGA Tour career wins
      3. Golf Compendium winners list
      4. WP: List of American Ryder Cup golfers
      5. Golf Compendium 1981
      6. PGA of America 2012 media guide
      7. The Golf News Net history table (2026)
      8. Today's Golfer purse history
      9. PGA of America 1981 leaderboard
      10. PGA of America club pros who made the cut
      11. PGA of America 2013 media guide, p. 49
      12. PGA of America 2012 media guide, p. 148
      13. GNN U.S. Open room (champions data)
      14. Golf Compendium 1987
      15. Sports Illustrated 1987
      16. Today's Golfer past champions
      17. BetMGM winner payouts
      18. GC: 1979 ryder cup
      19. Wikipedia: 1979 Ryder Cup
      20. GC: 1981 ryder cup
      21. Wikipedia: 1981 Ryder Cup
      22. GC: 1987 ryder cup
      23. Wikipedia: 1987 Ryder Cup
      24. Golf Compendium scoring records
      25. The Analyst (Opta)
      26. The Golf News Net, 5-0-0