Stars head to Texas for Byron Nelson

BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2006 EDS Byron Nelson Championship | Preview | 10 May 2006

The EDS Byron Nelson is the first of two events in Texas in the month of May and brings together a field that reflects the regard in which the tournament’s namesake, Byron Nelson, is still held by the professionals of the modern era.

Nelson was a five time major winner and a man who in 1945 won an incredible eighteen tournaments in the one season on the PGA Tour, including eleven consecutive between March and August of that year. He is still held in absolute reverence by golfers, old and new. His presence each and every year at the event is not only the highlight of this tournament but one of the highlights of the year on the PGA Tour.

Ted Purdy won his first USPGA Tour event here last year when he held out the 2005 Rookie of the Year, Sean O’Hair, to win by one shot with three shots back to those sharing third place. Other recent winners have been Sergio Garcia, Vijay Singh and Shigeki Maruyama.

The event is played over two courses, the TPC at Las Colinas and the Cottonwood Valley courses in Irving just outside of Dallas.

The Byron Nelson has, since 1944 when originally know as the Dallas Open, been one of the mainstays of the PGA Tour. Interestingly enough, it was at this event back in 1956 where Australia’s Peter Thomson won his only PGA Tour event in the US with a playoff victory over Cary Middlecoff and Gene Littler. His victory then, came at the Preston Hollow Country Club. The tournament had several venues in its early stages but in 1958 moved to Oak Hill where it stayed until 1968, then moved to the Preston Trail Golf Club when it became known as the Byron Nelson Golf Classic.

In 1983, Texan, Ben Crenshaw, won the event when it first moved from the Preston Trail Course to the Las Colinas Resort with that course being replaced later by the TPC course which opened there in 1986. It has stayed at the TPC course since although the Cottonwood Valley course, part of the same complex, became a joint venue in 1994. What that means is that the first two rounds are alternated between the TPC and Cottonwood Valley courses with the weekend rounds on the TPC at Las Colinas only.

The TPC course was a joint consultation between Jay Morrish, Ben Crenshaw and Byron Nelson. Morrish would go on to great success as a designer with courses such as the Troon North Monument course in Scottsdale and the Loch Lomond course in Scotland, both done in consultation with Tom Weiskopf. The course underwent significant changes in 1999 under the design of Morrish. Both courses have Penncross and Crenshaw Bentgrass greens oversown with ryegrass and Bermuda 419 fairways. The TPC course is par 70 and measures 7017 yards.

The Cottonwood Valley course is shorter at 6900 yards (par 70) and is essentially a hybrid design between Robert Trent Jones Jnr and again Jay Morrish. It opened in 1988 but a further nine holes were blended into the original course in 1985. It has also undergone changes, more especially to its bunkering, in 2002.

The tournament favourite is likely to be Jim Furyk but only just, over the likes of Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia, Luke Donald and Adam Scott. Previous winners here, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, are not lining up, Woods for obvious reasons and Mickelson for personal reasons although one look at his schedule of late suggests his batteries might just be in need of a recharge.

Furyk arrives in Dallas with simply stunning form, even apart from his win in Charlotte last week. Furyk has not won in Dallas but he has often played well and given his current form it would not surprise if he backed up. Last week he had to fight hard however and it might be that such a tough week might have an impact.

Singh, the 2003 winner, surprised last week when defending with a less than Singh like performance, in fact his last two tournaments have been the same. Singh has not won since August of last year which must seem like a real drought for him. He has bounced back from ordinary weeks previously and the soft wet golf course might be his greatest asset this week.

Ernie Els won here in 1995 and has often been inside the top ten but he has not enjoyed his best form in recent weeks. In his defence however it has not been all bad and, like Singh, this might be the chance to return to winning form.

Adam Scott is playing the event for the first time but comes off a very good third place last week. Sergio Garcia has been a fine performer in the event and won in 2004. He had a poor weekend last week and seems to be short of his best at present.

Luke Donald is currently in the field but he was forced to withdraw last week with an ailing back and a cloud remains over his fitness. If he was fit and injury free he could do well at a venue where he has performed well previously.

Others who stand a chance include Scott Verplank, who plays well at this tournament and who has been in solid form of late. Verplank is not often a winner but he is a consistent performer. Fred Couples has not played this event for a few years but when he did he played well. He has not played since his third place finish at the Masters but he could recapture some of that form he could well contend.

The Australians are headed by Scott but there are others who might so well. Robert Allenby has played often in Dallas and on occasions has played well but he is mixing his form of late.

Geoff Ogilvy has not had any luck here in this event but he is now such a classy player, and in such good form in 2006, that his record at Las Colinas might just improve considerably this week.

Stephen Leaney seemed to be playing his way back into form before a missed cut last week but he did recover in his second round at the Wachovia Championship. He has played well in this event previously and it might be that his return to form gets back on track this week.

For several of the Australians this is a ’home game’. Rod Pampling, Nathan Green and John Senden all live in the Dallas area and will have the luxury of sleeping in their own beds this week. Pampling deserves serious consideration this week and Senden is creeping closer to something special on the USPGA Tour and this would be a good week to do so.

Mark Hensby, Peter Lonard, Mattie Goggin, Michael Sim, Phil Tataurangi and Craig Perks make up the balance of the Australasians in the field. Sim is currently playing the Nationwide Tour but gets a start in what will be just his second USPGA Tour event following his appearance at Bay Hill in 2005.

Photo – Srixon