In 1971, Nelson turned professional. He qualified for the
PGA Tour at
1973 PGA Tour Qualifying School. Nelson's breakthrough year came in 1979 when he won twice and finished second on the money list to
Tom Watson. Nelson won 10 times on the
PGA Tour including three
major championships. He earned his first major title at the
1981 PGA Championship which he won by four strokes over
Fuzzy Zoeller. In 1983, Nelson was victorious at the
U.S. Open at
Oakmont coming from seven behind at the halfway point to defeat
Tom Watson by a single shot. Nelson scored a U.S. Open record 65-67 over the last 36 holes at the difficult Oakmont course which broke a 51-year Open record established by
Gene Sarazen. His 10-under-par 132 record score has yet to be equaled. In 1987, he finished tied with
Lanny Wadkins after the regulation 72 holes of the
PGA Championship. He won the title with a par at the first playoff hole. Nelson played on the U.S.
Ryder Cup team in 1979, 1981, and 1987. His record of 9–3–1 is one of the best since the event became USA v Europe in 1979; it had been a perfect 9–0–0 after the first two events. Nelson also had great success internationally. He won four tournaments on the
Japan Golf Tour. Nelson also finished runner-up at the 1982
Dunlop Phoenix Tournament, 1985
Suntory Open, and the 1987
Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters in Japan. In addition, in 1987 he finished runner-up at the
New Zealand Open on the
PGA Tour of Australia. He lost to Northern Ireland's
Ronan Rafferty in a sudden-death playoff. Since turning 50 in 1997, Nelson has had a very successful
Champions Tour career, winning 19 times. Nelson is also active in golf course design and created the LagRx Swing Trainer to help golfers condition and improve their muscle memory. == Honors ==