Byron Nelson given Lifetime Achievement Award

Byron Nelson, one of the greatest players and sportsmen in golf, has been named the recipient of the Golf Coaches Association of America Lifetime Achievement Award, GCAA officials have announced. Nelson is oly the second recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award and just the second non-collegiate coach inducted into the GCAA Hall of Fame.

The award was created to honor special individuals who have made outstanding contributions to collegiate golf and its student-athletes. Nelson will receive the award on Wednesday at the GCAA Hall of Fame Awards Dinner, where Paul Earnest, Director of Golf at The Four Seasons Resort and Club at Las Colinas, will accept the award on Nelson's behalf.

One of the greatest players in the history of the game, Nelson won 54 sanctioned tournaments, including two Masters, two PGA Championships and a U.S. Open, and finished in the money a record 113 straight tournaments.

This year also marks the 50th anniversary of what is widely considered the greatest season in professional golf, when he won 11 tournaments in a row. He won a total of 18 tournaments in 1945, finished second on seven occasions and compiled a 68.33 scoring average.

Considered on of the greatest gentlemen in sports, Nelson has made countless contributions to the game by mentoring young golfers, working as a golf commentator for ABC Sports and serving as host of the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. The Nelson raises more money for charity than any other tournament on the PGA Tour and benefits underprivileged children in the Dallas area.

He also lends his name to the Byron Nelson Award presented by Cleveland Golf, which is presented to a graduating men's senior golfer. A student-athlete's entire collegiate academic and golf career, as well as his character and integrity while in college, are considered for the award with particular particular emphasis placed on good citizenship, as portrayed by Nelson over the course of his life and golf career.

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