VERIZON BYRON NELSON CLASSIC

May 7, 2002

Byron Nelson

BYRON NELSON: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Looks like we have a very good group. I am pleased and honored to be here. Struggled to get around. I get around but when the day's over I am really worn out because of when you walk with a cane and have to have a little help, why, it's -- I move and I am going to continue as long as I can and -- but it is tiring, more so than just get up -- you get up and just get up and go. Well, I get up and go, but - slowly.

I did a lot of things at the ranch before I came here this morning, always some last minute details, men want to know where to have the water cutoff (inaudible) seems like since I have lived there 56 years, I am the only one who knows where they are. So I think the easiest thing to do as far as I am concerned today is I give you permission to ask me questions that you'd like for me to try to answer and if I don't know the answer well, then I don't know. (Laughs).

Q. Doesn't seem like you have slowed down at all since the surgery. Can you talk about how that recovery went for you and why you decided to just keep --

BYRON NELSON: Well, the surgery was -- I really -- I hurt very badly, lumbar 3, 4 and 5, and I had the same surgery on 3, 4 and 5 in 1958 and it was perfect. Just for some reason my system about the first part -- end of November and first part of December it began to hurt real bad again so made some x-rays and said looks like it has a little arthritis it. So it continued to get worse and I went back to my family doctor, I said Dr. Murphy, I said, that it's getting bad. So they did a different type -- i have a pacemaker so they couldn't do one of those scans that they do but they did a great thing and they found that 3, 4 and 5 had a lot of blockage. That's where the main sciatic nerve goes. So we immediately came to Dallas - Lipsig hospital and Dr. Morgan who does back surgery operated on my back and really it hurt mainly when -- like I am sitting now, it was completely comfortable sitting, but when I tried to straighten up, if I can get up in the morning why, I couldn't even -- Peg would have to help me to get to the bathroom and to do those type of things. When I had the operation, when I came out from the anesthetic, I didn't have pain, one, haven't had pain since. It cured it, just the operation, because it took the pressure off of the nerve and so it's fine, he said that will never bother you again. He told Peggy this, actually he talked to her after the operation. He said, well, I was pleased about one thing, he said the tissue, Byron's tissue and the bone structure is no more than a 60 year old man, but he said he has some deterioration in his legs which I already knew. But that's just something that kind of runs in my family. I guess that's one of my weaknesses but I am fine and have no pain whatsoever since.

I am not saying -- I mean, a 90 year old back has some pain in it, but from the operation it is gone, period. It is just great. Unbelievably good what they can do.

Q. Are you able to play a little golf?

BYRON NELSON: I don't know. I have not tried yet because I have been busy getting over this and -- I did -- see the thing that's difficult when you play golf is that I have to have something to hold me up. I can -- I can go down there and I can wobble along here, but standing up at the golf ball, it is very difficult to do because the balance is bad. I can't pivot or anything. If I hit a good drive why it might go 120 yards which is kind of like a short pitch shot for most people.

But I expect to play some, a little bit. The way I do, I take a driver in my hand when I get on my cart, Peg, I don't play with anybody but Peggy because I cannot tee the ball up and if and when I get it in the hole, why, I can't pick it up out of the hole so she does that for me, tees the ball up, and helps me -- she just helps me great. So I don't -- I might sometimes play with -- other people might play along with us, but I couldn't play without her.

Last summer I played about I guess eight or nine, nine holes, middle of the summer and I was shooting, well, I'd probably shot not too much more than my age. But I still you know, I miss playing golf, but I am not -- I am not down in the dumps about the fact that I can't play because my health is good. I am up and going. A lot of, I think, there's not many men 90 years old that have the schedule that I keep. I am very pleased and fortunate about that. I thank the good Lord everyday for it.

Q. Talk a little bit about some of the awards you are going to be receiving here at the opening ceremony, USGA Award and then with the street renaming, what some of that means to you?

BYRON NELSON: I tell you, I get -- I definitely say that I have received more awards than I feel I deserve, but I thoroughly enjoy and I don't -- I really am almost overcome by the awards because the last one I got, 30th of April from the American Society of Golf Curse Architects, gave me a wonderful award, the Donald Ross Award, and that, I never dreamed ever, well, even before it happened, I never thought about receiving an award from that type of people, of those people at all. And I did -- I was very pleased by it. The awards that I keep getting, I am pleased about each one, thankful for it, and thankful that I am able to be there to receive it. I didn't go to California because last year I had to fly in L.A.; layover two hours, fly another plane up to Santa Barbara; then reverse coming back and I don't travel very well that way anymore. So Eddie Merrins, a pro at the Belair in L.A., went up to accept the award for me. I did a video for him thanking him for it and expressing my thanks. (Inaudible) I think when Jay Morish, happens to be a very dear friend of mine, built this golf course for us, and lives here and we see him, and the changes that have been -- minor changes that have been made in this course here, the trees and everything which Jay Morish is responsible for that, done a great job with it.

Q. What is it about this tournament that you are most proud of?

BYRON NELSON: Well, the main thing is for what the tournament stands for and what they do with the money. That's what I am most proud of. Naturally, I am proud to have my name connected with it because I think -- make no bones about it, I say a lot of times, my golf record is wonderful and I am proud of that. But I am more pleased at this stage of my life to be connected with a group of people like this and for what they do, the rehabilitation of children and people that have -- helping them with their problems, I feel very proud with that and I am very pleased about it and I am sure that from all we have known and talk about, why, I am sure that when I am dead and gone, why, they will still be doing it. Because it has -- never thought about it when this happened, but my name really, I think is more alive now than when I was playing golf. It is more known because see I didn't have -- I didn't have radio or TV back in the days that I played. So you didn't have the publicity and people didn't see me, but they saw me and heard me. As a matter of fact, they didn't see me much but they heard me when I was doing the television for ABC for, 14 to 17 years, and I'd go someplaces and eat or someplaces and be talking to somebody, and they'd say, you are Byron Nelson, aren't you? I said, yes, I am, thank you. I recognize you, your voice, because they heard my voice on TV. So those things and I tell you -- I have never seen a group of people as dedicated as what the Salesmanship people are and what they do, like last year, I don't have to tell you about the economy and market being down and even with that, why they raised the -- added this year of what they were going to try to do. They raised from 9 and a half million to 10 and a half. They are going to come close to it, may even make it, it is still coming very close. That's remarkable shows how -- two things -- it shows how hard they work on it and also it shows how their whole metroplex area, the people that buy the sponsorships and put up the money and pay for it and put up the money, that they understand and realize what the money goes for and the Salesmanship Club, we do it because we love to do what we're doing. And people realize that, because there are a lot of tournaments that have good charities tied to them but the charity kind of gets what is left over. Well, whatever is here, the charity gets all of it. Last year, the Tour did about 64 million and we did over 6, so we're still doing about 10% of the Tour because I know in 1999 why, Tim Finchem Commissioner of the PGA TOUR was here at an when the AGS sponsors had their meeting here in Dallas, I was sitting with our group at the meeting and of course when it comes his time, he thanked the AGS sponsors for their wonderful support, keeping wonderful records and stuff, and this year, we have reached -- the Tour has reached 300 million dollars. That ain't hay. And he's pointed over to our group and said they have done 30 of it. So it's still 10%. Still going. Another thing is that there's a lot of facilities that are wonderful but considering everything that we have here you know, we got a wonderful hotel. We got a fine golf course. We're 15 minutes from the airport and they have the best nursery that's on the Tour, and the Tour tells us we handle the gallery better than -- the marshals do a better job than any other place, so all and all, and you know, how you are -- the food here even -- everybody tells me and I have a golf school down at the golf house and the practice range and the people dome down and they say, boy, the food is great here. When you have got a wonderful place and to say the food is fine and the golf course is fine and you are treated good, why, and know what the money goes for, I don't know how you can -- it keeps getting better all the time.

Q. When it comes to the Masters tournament, what are your thoughts about the letters going out to the AG winners asking not to play anymore; do you agree with that?

BYRON NELSON: I am going to ignore that question. Because I will tell you, of course, I am older than any of those players and I quit playing in 1964. I quit and I don't know -- I feel that -- I knew when I wanted to quit and I did and I kept hitting the ball off the 1st tee and I should have quit then, I was even hitting it when I was standing there and spraying, I was afraid I was going to fall down when I hit it, so it's -- I think that -- see, Hootie, the chairman based on these decisions, apparently, I don't know for sure but on his own -- (inaudible) they have always done it that way, he has people work with him, and so he had some criticism about that from the players and the press, and stuff, and they -- so he putt -- he asked Tom Watson and Ray Floyd to work with him on the committee to make these final changes and I am sure that those are two fine men and know the game and they are very smart, so I am sure that the decision that they have come up with is better. It takes away from someone else being able to play that can play and that, so it's kind of a touchy question, I think whether you are against it or for it.

Q. This is Ken Venturi's last tournament here. You have played a lot of golf with him. Give us a few of your memories if you can, and what he has meant to golf, and what he's meant to you playing with you and stuff like that?

BYRON NELSON: How much time do you have?

Q. All day.

BYRON NELSON: (Laughs) I will tell you, of course, I knew this is going to be the last one. Kenny and I have had an absolute wonderful relationship. Ever since I have known him -- the story - I will make it short because I can talk it forever about it - but how I met Ken Venturi the first time how he met me once and the story is in today's paper about -- he did go way back 13 or 14 years old, and he a little old brownie box camera, you take a picture and you'd hear it like rattles, you know, so he made finally just took a photo of my face and make -- every time he gets close enough and of course the gallery walking with you in those days and the tees and stuff, so I finally asked him to please get out of the way; get this camera out of the way. He told his mother, Byron spoke to him. She said, what did he say to you? He said, take that -- please get that camera out of my way. So that -- I didn't know his name or anything else at that time, but Eddie Lowery, I think all of you know who he was and Francis Ouimet (inaudible) 1913 when he won the Open, beating Vardon and Ray in Boston, and he was a golf nut, and substantial businessman, big Lincoln-Mercury dealer, and he called me. I was moving around quite a lot and I was going to the National Amateur in Seattle, and so he called me said -- we were talking and said going in the Amateur and I said yes. He said well Ken Venturi is going to be playing he said I have been trying to help him. I think he can make a fine player, but I can't help him anymore. I don't know how to help him anymore. So he was there and so I went out and I watched him play that day - not all day but most of the round he played Mason Rudolph. Mason beat him I think 3-2 or something, so when the game is over I introduced myself to Kenny, and we had a conversation and I told him that I am a friend of Eddie Lowery. He told me about him, all these things and I said, I am going to San Francisco and we get to San Francisco and we have a game. After I got to San Francisco, played a game at the San Francisco Golf and Country Club - beautiful golf course - so when I played -- Kenny was all steamed up, he was a great putter, and he shot 66 that day and I shot 68 and so we're sitting around having a coke after it's over and Andy and I are talking. So I think he's expecting me to brag on the way he played and so forth. So I told him before he left, I said, Kenny, Eddie wanted me to help you with your golf game and some, and I am going to be here for a while, and so you meet me out here in the morning and we have got about 6 or 8 things that we need to fix. So that's just about the way it happened. So we went to work the next day and I worked with him. Probably worked more with him than anybody that I have worked with including Watson and Crenshaw and stuff, but I have a relationship -- his father died at a young age and I think he kind of held me up as a father attitude, (inaudible) and we had -- better than what Kenny and I have had, and to hear him, you know, he talks about me -- I never mentioned (inaudible) he really lays it on about me. I told him -- the telecast the other day, I forget what tournament he was doing, they were talking about somebody hitting the ball straight, he said, he didn't hit it straight as Nelson did. But I am very pleased that they are going to honor him here for the last tournament that he's going to be telecast with us, and I'd say he has done a marvelous job. Back when he -- those little chip shots pitch shots and stuff that he did around the green, he did those so great and explained them so well, that it was very well received. He's done it what, 30 something years. Nobody has ever done it that long. He has been great.

Q. Make you feel kind of older, a little sad nostalgic that he's moving on?

BYRON NELSON: No, I am 90, I don't think I'd feel much older than that. That doesn't enter into it. I am of course pleased that he has done as well as he has because I think that I have been some influence on him and he says so. So I am just pleased -- the thing that I am pleased about is that I think it is a great move for him that he's moving to California and moving out to the desert because his boys and his family is all out there, and see when Bo - that was his wife when Bo died and living in Florida and then he kind of helped take care of Gene, he was real good for Gene Sarazen, when Gene died, well, then I don't think he had much reason to stay there. I don't think there's much people that -- I knew he had some friends, I don't mean that, but he was not involved down there anymore. And he has a girlfriend and that's great too. He's young enough and I remarried when I was 74 - best thing I ever did in my life.

Q. Talk a minute about your new book, Byron.

BYRON NELSON: You mean Quotable Byron?

Q. Yes.

BYRON NELSON: Well, that book I didn't have anything to do with that book in a way. John Bradley did. He's my C.P.A. and probably - I mean not probably, he knows more about me, my record, and he's a golf nut and best C.P.A. i have ever known, never saw anything like it, and he works with the state and he's big in this business. But he has on all of his computers he has got everything that I have ever did, and before he ever said anything about it he had been keeping tabs of all the quotes I had made and quotes of some of the other players that they have made. So he talked to me and said you know what, I'd like to do a book. He told me about the book what he wanted to do. I said, you got my permission to do it. So he did it and being accepted and received, it's doing just great. I know I have signed 840 of them in the last week. They just -- boy, they just disappear. And I think -- I haven't read all of them yet, but I have read a lot of them. I know one quote from Venturi said that he hit it straighter than a ruler or a yardstick or something. Talking about straight shots, but it's doing very well.

The cover is attractive and it's smaller, and it cost 15 dollars something, 15, 17 dollars. It is doing very well, I am proud of it. Because there's a lot of things in there that he put in there that tells about what I believe in, about what a man should do and about going to church and stuff like that.

Q. Proceeds benefit the -?

BYRON NELSON: Proceeds -- he didn't tell me this, I didn't know a thing about it, but all the proceeds go to my golf scholarship at ACU. That's just the type of guy he is. He made the book and scholarship's getting the proceeds.

Q. I am curious, Mr. Nelson, who is the best player you've ever watched?

BYRON NELSON: Tiger Woods.

Q. More so than Jack or --

BYRON NELSON: Well ---

Q. Bobby Jones?

BYRON NELSON: I like to put that answer kind of this way. I saw Tiger play more than once every year from the time that he's 14 'til now and I never saw a player at the age of 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, that played as well at that age as he did. Now, whether or not he's going to beat Nicklaus' major record, nobody knows and he doesn't but I will tell you he's working on it and he has a great desire to accomplish things and he's doing -- I think he's doing a remarkable job at it. He's exciting to watch. I love to watch him play, everybody does and he's probably, you know, the game of golf is funny, back before when I was starting to play Hagen, Jones, Sarazen, and some other fine players, and then they passed on -- didn't pass on but their career passed on; then along came Hogan, Snead, Nelson then along comes Arnold Palmer then Jack Nicklaus, and other good players, and now Tiger. But if you look at the way they played, every era, these players, they have gotten better. There's not any player that won in those years that wasn't better than the group before the leader, the top guys, not any of them.

Q. What would you think would happen if Tiger or even Nicklaus had to play with the clubs and balls that you used and vice versa, what if you and Sam and Hogan had been able to use the equipment available today?

BYRON NELSON: Well, that would be absolutely a wild guess but I will tell you this: I think that the American people, American athletes and the American people of the business stuff, they do what -- when they get a drive on when they have to do something they get a drive to go and do it. I think one of these days somebody is going to come along, some of these young kids are coming out there, they are awfully good and there will be somebody in a few years come along that, you know, you won't forget about Tiger, but that will give competition. I think when I played as well as I did I and hit the ball as straight as I did, then I think that I've - with more different equipment, why I would hit the ball farther and hit it farther. I might not hit it quite as straight. But I would not, -- if I was playing today and played with even the swing that I had then, I wouldn't go broke out there. (Laughter) And you know, it's kind of that way you look back because let me tell you how much a lot of things have changed about the game that you know. They talk about the ball, the club, the shaft and everything about it going farther; that's ture. But I don't think there has been enough said about how the players have learned to hit the ball hard. They hit the ball harder than we did.

Back when I first started learning to play, they say a long hitter can't play golf, and he won't do well around the green won't have the touch around the green if he's a long hitter. And we kind of -- that's kind of the way you thought to a degree. Well we got -- as we progressed we got over it because when we came along, we played better golf than Jones and Sarazen and Hagen, we shot better scores, and the scores are continuing to improve as the players improve, but they did a story -- they did a survey on my swing against Davis Love and Davis' shortened his swing some. When he first came out he was along way out on his backswing, way out here as Tiger is. They discovered that his backswing covered 17 inches more than mine did. Well, I hit it like this. They go out here and way out here. That gives them more time to gather club head speed and hit the ball harder. You know, a guy -- can't remember his name -- Sluman, you know he's worked on his game, and he's learned his -- he picked up 18 yards. That's a lot. That's a lot. That's 10%. So I think that I think that try to compare -- I never thought about trying to compare the way I played with the way that Nicklaus played or the way that Tiger plays or the other fine players, Mickelson and Davis Love, and I never thought about well, could I play -- but after all, you know, they didn't give me gimme putts when I played and only broken my scoring record, Tiger once, by 1,300 something points so I didn't play very badly.

Q. How much is Tiger's success, do you think should be attributed to his mental strength? Is there a parallel from when you were playing and who would you compare him to in that category?

BYRON NELSON: I don't know how I could compare that with somebody else but I will say this that I think that he does the best job of course management, knowing what to do under what circumstance as anybody as I have ever seen. Better than most people. And I think there's never been enough said about his putting skill. His putting, you know, he has days when he doesn't putt as well as others which of course is (inaudible) -- he didn't 3-putt once at Augusta this year. When he won Augusta, then came here two years ago when he won, and he went 157 consecutive holes without 3-putting a green. So that tells you a lot more than just the stroke is good. That means he's thinking right, and also that his stroke is good and that he's reading the green right. If you don't read the green right, why, it's not going to go in. If you misread, you don't care how good your stroke is. I think that the reason and I will tell you this, I've watched Nicklaus play; not every round, but I have watched his whole career, and I never saw anybody and I think the reason that he played so well at Augusta is that Nicklaus never hit a putt. Nicklaus rolled the ball. Nicklaus got down like this. He never hit -- he went this way, he never -- and he -- Nicklaus was the best fast green putter I have ever seen including Tiger . I think that's why he did so great in the majors because most major tournaments you have got fast hard greens, and I think that's one reason. Of course he put forth a great -- a lot of effort, but Tiger, I have seen Tiger -- you watch him really close as I have, you can tell when he -- when he hits a putt and he doesn't make it, say he has got a 20-footer and he hits it and he doesn't make it or the ball doesn't go where he wanted it to go, and thought it was going to go, then he will kind of back off and look at it. If he's hit it and he realized he didn't hit it exactly he wanted it to go then he walks up and just tops it on in. You can tell the way -- his actions, when you learn about his actions when he misreads a putt, that doesn't happen very often. He reads the green better that anybody I have ever saw, including Jack.

His mental attitude, he gets upset when he plays a bad shot but he doesn't -- that's through before he gets to the next shot to play. He doesn't make any mental mis -- he doesn't make any mental mistakes and he has, I can see and I know you can too, the good players have the type of adrenaline flow that the lesser players don't have. You can tell -- I know number of years ago when Nicklaus and Watson at the Masters, Nicklaus playing in front of you, he'd make a birdie. (Inaudible) At that time I was married to Louise and she didn't play golf but she wanted Tom to win it because Tom was our favorite guy. She didn't dislike Jack but she wanted Tom to win. So they walk differently. They don't speed up so much. You can see a determination in their walk and she said rather than watch it on TV, she said, slow down, Jack, slow down, Jack. She wanted to get away from that drive that he was doing. Of course Watson (inaudible). When Tiger won -- when he was 7 behind and won -- starting the 14th hole and won, his whole walk, everything changed. That was the adrenaline flow. Almost holing every shot after that. You just have a different way of feel and you hit the ball farther. That's one thing you have to be careful of when your adrenaline flow gets like that you hit the ball farther.

I know when I won in '37 at Augusta, guy playing in front of me was Picard in two-somes and believe it or not, of course you wouldn't know this, in between 17 and 15, there was a road through, an old gravel road, a lot of trash and stuff in there, believe it or not, and they had lost a ball. So instead of anybody finding the ball that 15th hole is going down and Picard drives -- he and I drove about the same distance -- and he is standing (inaudible) they waived us through. And talked to him about it after the tournament was over, he said, man, he said you were really going in that 15th hole because I was standing in my drive and when you hit your drive I went this way (looking back) you carried it over where I was. That happens. And I really feel that that's the difference and some people have that and control it. Some people, you get it and you don't -- it gets out of control and you don't have that control of it. It is like controlling your temper.

Q. Of all your accomplishments and records where does consecutive finishes in the money rank in your heart?

BYRON NELSON: No. 1, my consistency winning being -- see, they call it "making the cut" now. Well, see there was no cut when we played. You played -- you didn't win money and it wasn't -- there was no publicity about being the first 10 or first 5 like there is now because it was not that important. But I have a record of 113 times in the money and most -- there's only two tournaments average a year that had more than 20 money places. So I think Tiger he probably -- he's 89, maybe 91 by now, and I think --know telling when he is ever going to miss the money, miss the cut, I mean, when he does, that's one record that I think mine would be better than his, because mine, most 90% of the tournaments I played in only had 20 places.

Q. There were some where they only paid like the Top-10, right, would that be right?

BYRON NELSON: No. They played 20. They just didn't -- the winner didn't get much, but there's always 20 places. Well, I say originally , I think it used to be 15 places a long time ago last time I started, but --

Q. You have seen and played in many U.S. opens. This year they are taking one to what is essentially a municipal course in the State of New York. What is your thought about playing a major at that type of courses that's available to every man most of the year?

BYRON NELSON: Well I think that's great because and I have played two exhibitions at that golf course and they have done some revision of it since, but that's a long time ago I did that. That golf course is wonderful. That Black course is just great. I think it is great for golf and great -- it shows what good thinking by the USGA to use -- if the facility is good to use it. And I am sure that it will be very, very well received and it's a good golf course.

Q. How important in your career and in golf in general for all players is luck?

BYRON NELSON: Basically not much. Basically I don't think much. You can get good bounces, but you can get bad bounces too. You have to -- I know there used to be a prayer calling my name back in the days that I played that if he had hit 1-putt that he thought should go in or it kind of kicked off and didn't go in, why, he just took that -- well, then he thinks nothing is going to go right for me today. Didn't take that too well.

You can have luck by your pairings of the time of day, say you are playing in the Open and you are leading and somebody is pretty close to you and the somebody is playing early and you are playing later, and the weather gets much worse or much better, now that could be a lucky thing to happen to you. But as far as your actual play is concerned, why, I don't think there is much luck to it. I think it is mainly the skill and the way that you handle the things that happen to you. If you look for the positive things you can see the positive things. If you look for the negative things you can see those. Whichever way you want to look.

Q. Ever a case where luck was beneficial to you in an event?

BYRON NELSON: Well, golfwise I don't know as it was. I was lucky to be born with wonderful parents and raised properly. I had one unlucky thing really at -- people think so, and it probably did cost me the Open in 1946 when the caddie moved my ball in the fairway on the 13th hole. So that was a bad break and it was unfortunate thing because it was so unusual because those days the gallery walked with you and on the par 5s a lot of old par 4s, they'd pull a rope across the fairway. After they drive then they would pull the rope up, people would come up to that rope. On this par 5, it had quite a ways down you played on a bad downslope to the green up. So I laid back a little bit and I hit the ball a little shorter than what they were expecting it to and so they pulled the rope up and there were only about two feet within my ball, only about two feet of my ball in front of the rope. And the gallery was 10 deep and you had to go under the rope. My caddie went under the rope and weren't expecting the ball to be 10, 15, 20 feet or yards out there in the fairway and of course he kicked it and moved it with his foot. So that caused me a penalty stroke, and I handled it badly. The unfortunate thing was I handled it badly because the USGA official, referee, and instead of him saying that's a penalty, we got into a discussion about it and so he said why don't you play and let the whole committee make a decision about this. Well, the player has the right, the right to give the player the right to make the decision. Well I knew there would be -- (inaudible) he wanted to do it that way, and so I played two over par from there. Besides that I had been playing very well. So it broke my concentration and -- but that was unlucky -- I had overall best of luck. I didn't have any bad breaks.

Thank you very much, gentlemen, good to see you, glad you are here.

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