Let me defend Lord Byron.
It is true that the fields were weakened due to World War II (Nelson was exempt because he was a haemophiliac), but it was not at all devoid of talent. In the summer of 1945, Jimmy Demaret and Craig Wood were on tour the entire time. Sam Snead played in 27 tournaments and won 6. Ben Hogan had been discharged from the Army Air Corps and played in 19 events.
And also, lets compare him to what Bobby Jones called “Old Man Par.” In 31 tournaments that year, Nelson shot an average of 68.33.
I believe—as do many—that he would have won a lot no matter who was on tour that year.
But I don’t think that his 11 in a row is his most impressive record.
The guy made 113 consecutive cuts, a record that stood until broken by Tiger Woods.
But Nelson’s 113 was more impressive than Tiger’s. In Nelson’s time, only the top 20 golfers in a tournament were considered to have made the “cut,” since only the top 20 recieved a paycheck of any kind. That means that Nelson finished in the top twenty 113 consecutive times.
Woods’ longest top 20 streak is 13.
Unbelievable.
