The Byron Nelson Championship, currently sponsored by HP, is a PGA Tour golf tournament held in late April or early May. It s held at the Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas in Texas. The Byron Nelson Championship is one of only two PGA Tour events named after a pro golfer; the other is the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
A leading charity fundraiser competition, it often earns over $100 million for charity. For 2009, the total purse was $6.5 million, with the winner’s share of the purse at $1,170,000. In addition, the winner gains 500 points towards the FedEx cup.
The Byron Nelson Championship has existed under multiple names since 1944, and throughout its history has been played at several different Dallas-area courses. Since 1994, it has been held at the Tournament Players Course at Four Seasons Resort. For a few years the tournament also used the Cottonwood Valley course at the same resort during the first two rounds to shorten the playing time; in 2008 it reverted back to using only the TPC course, which has recently been renovated.
The Byron Nelson Championship was the event to break Tiger Woods’ record streak of 142 cuts, in 2005. In 2008, Australian golfer Adam Scot sank a 48 foot putt on the third playoff hole to clinch his win over Ryan Moore. Winners for the past few years included Adam Scott in 2008, Scott Verplank in 2007, and Brett Wetterich in 2006.
The 2009 Championship has just wrapped up, taking place from May 21 to May 24. South Africa's Rory Sabbatini and American John Mallinger remained head-to-head for much of the third round. In the final holes of the third round, Rory Sabbatini pulled ahead of second-place finished Brian Davis to clinch the victory by 2 strokes. It is his first tournament win since 2007.