Over the years we have tried to follow the advice given to us by Mr. Nelson. He believed that we should reach out to young up and coming amateur players that looked like they were going to be superstars. He thought that if you could identify a player early on and give him a chance to play in a PGA Tour event then he would remember us and play our event once he became a professional. History has proven that this strategy works.
We have always tried to reach out to young amateur players who won significant amateur championships, especially ones who were local.
Here is a list of amateurs who have played in the Byron Nelson Championship.
1970Steve Melnyk68-74-72-7022nd Place
1986Scott Verplank72-68-67-70=27719th Place
1993Tiger Woods77-72Missed Cut
1992Tripp Kuehne73-72Missed Cut
1993Justin Leonard70-67-68-75=28056th Place
1995Tripp Kuehne71-72Missed Cut
2007Colt Knost*74-64-74-74=28667th Place
2008Colt Knost74-72Missed Cut
2010Jordan Speith68-69-67-72=27616th Place
2011 Jordan Speith69-68-72-77=28632nd Place
2012 Kelly Kraft77-76Missed Cut
2013Guan Tianlang 70-77Missed Cut
2014Scottie Scheffler71-68-69-68=27622nd Place
