The Nelson Makes A Comeback

A painting by the artist Everett Raymond Kinstler, featuring Byron Nelson, 1974 Courtesy USGA Archives

When the AT&T Byron Nelson starts on May 12 at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, it will feature seven players presently in the top 20 of the Official Golf World Ranking, led by Masters champion and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler of nearby Highland Park. Another Texas favorite, No. 9-ranked Jordan Spieth, will be there, as will Dustin Johnson (10), Sam Burns (11), Louis Oosthuizen (15), Joaquin Niemann (16) and Brooks Koepka (17).

This is welcome news for the Salesmanship Club of Dallas, the tournament’s longtime host. In recent years, the Nelson has fallen off of a cliff in terms of prestige. Part is due to the 15½ years that has elapsed since its beloved namesake passed away. At one time, the Nelson attracted some of the strongest non-major fields every year. Lately, however, few stars have showed up, and attendance has plummeted as the venue bounced from TPC Four Seasons to Trinity Forest to its current home at Craig Ra...