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Sneak-Away
Birdie Kick Starts Round
Sean
O'Hair had a feeling after two shots that Thursday's first round
might be special. After a more than 300-yard drive in a prevailing
wind on the opening hole, he "nuked" a 5-wood to within eight feet
of the hole. After draining the putt, his caddie and father-in-law,
Steve Lucas, casually delivered his commentary, "Well, that's a
skin."
O'Hair's self-proclaimed "sneak-away birdie" was the
first of seven birdies for the day on his way to an opening round
65. His confidence continues to swell after a rough start to the
2007 season. O'Hair missed five of his first six cuts before
steadying his game in recent weeks. He is now attempting to finish
in the top 15 on the leaderboard for the fifth-consecutive PGA TOUR
event.
O'Hair has been atop the leaderboard at the EDS Byron
Nelson Championship previously. The Lubbock, Texas native, held second and
third round leads in 2005 before being nipped by Ted Purdy by a
stroke for the title on Sunday. Asked on Thursday the difference
between him as a player today from two years ago, O'Hair paused and
smiled before answering. "I think I might have gained a pound since
then," the 165-pound golfer mused.
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Learning
About a Legend |
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It
shouldn't take long for fans attending this year's EDS Byron
Nelson Championship to get a sense of the legendary
accomplishments of the namesake of this prestigious
tournament. A stroll down Champions Way, near the
main entrance, gives fans the opportunity to educate
themselves about Mr. Nelson and his unprecedented track record
of success on the golf course and in the community.
An
audio presentation detailing Nelson's storied career and
decades of charitable deeds greets patrons on their initial
approach to the course.
A mere sand wedge away from
Champions
Way at the Championship Golf Shop
presented by MasterCard, the educational experience continues
with two informational kiosks. The mind-boggling
accomplishments of Nelson's career are detailed with
statistics and superlatives of his relatively brief but
distinguished career on TOUR.
In addition to his
career milestones and accomplishments, the four-panel displays
detail his contributions to golf innovations including his
help developing the modern-day golf shoe and umbrella.
Mentoring generations of golfers, such as Tom Watson, Payne
Stewart and Ken Venturi, was also a staple of Nelson's legacy.
Nelson's inspirational impact is celebrated with a
display dedicated to the Congressional Gold Medal. The highest
civilian award bestowed by the United States Congress was
awarded to Nelson in 2006. Former U.S. presidents
George Washington, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy and Ronald
Reagan are on that distinguished list as are Pope John Paul
II, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King and Mother Teresa.
And of course, no tribute to Mr. Nelson would be
complete without a timeline of Byron's work for kids. Since
the tournament's inception in 1968, his rich legacy of helping
others continues to make an indelible impact on thousands of
children and families in the greater Dallas
area and beyond.
DID YOU KNOW THAT BYRON NELSON
...?
- Was the first
player to work as a television golf
analyst
- Had his swing
emulated in creating the "Iron Byron" golf club testing
machine
- Won five major
championships including two Masters Tournaments, one U.S.
Open and two PGA Championships
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Technology
Behind the Scenes at the EDS Byron Nelson
Championship |
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To
ensure the technology behind the EDS Byron Nelson Championship
runs without a glitch, EDS relies on its Agility Alliance
Partners Microsoft, Sun Microsystems and Cisco.
Microsoft created the underlying technology for the
Gold Pro-Am selection process. The hi-tech process makes the
Gold Pro-Am drawing party one of the most unique pro-am draws
on the PGA TOUR.
Sun Microsystems created a radio
frequency identification (RFID) system for EDS' venue tickets.
When a guest arrives at an EDS tournament venue, an RFID tag
on the ticket is scanned to verify the guest's name and host.
Cisco provides the network for all of the facilities
at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship, including the Gold
Pro-Am selection process and the Media
Center.
This network makes the EDS Byron Nelson Championship's
Media Center one of the best
on the PGA TOUR. Cisco also provides a voice over internet
protocol (VoIP) network and each individual station in the
Media Center is equipped with
a VoIP phone.
The technology EDS and its Agility
Alliance partners provide at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship
demonstrate a few of the services available to EDS' clients.
For more information on EDS and its Agility Alliance
Partners, visit www.eds.com.
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Family
Works Center
by the Numbers |
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6
- Number of languages spoken by family therapists, parent
educators and therapeutic after school program facilitators
(English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Hebrew and Japanese)
20 - Number of staff members at the Family Works
Center
29,600 - Number of square feet completely
renovated at the new Center
8 - Average number of
hours families spend in an Infant-Child Comprehensive
Assessment
40 - Number of adolescents to be seen in
the Therapeutic After School Program when it reaches capacity
1 - Number of years new facility has been open to the
public, as of May 8, 2007.
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Sponsor
Spotlight: Avodart |
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 Spectators
who visit the AVODART display booth on Champions Way can
receive more information on AVODART, as well as have the
chance to meet former football great Joe Theismann! Joe will
sign autographs at the AVODART booth on Friday from 12 - 1
p.m.
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Media
Information |
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THURSDAY
ATTENDANCE
34,000
TELEVISION
COVERAGE:
Thursday, April 26:
The
Golf Channel
2-5 p.m. CDT
Friday, April 27:
The Golf Channel
2-5 p.m. CDT
The Golf Channel will replay
coverage from 7:30-10:30 p.m. on Thursday and
Friday.
Saturday, April 28:
CBS
2-5 p.m. CDT
Sunday, April 29:
CBS
2-5 p.m. CDT
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
Friday, April
27
Second Round
Saturday, April 28
Third Round
Byron Nelson's Congressional Gold
Medal Celebration,
11 a.m.
Moment of Silence,
3 p.m.
Sunday,
April 29
Sunrise Service featuring Tom
Lehman,
6:30 a.m.
Final Round
Closing
Ceremony on TPC No. 18 Green
CONTACT US:
Tracy
Cobb, Director of Communications
E-mail:
tcobb@scdallas.org
Lyndsay Lovell, Communications Coordinator
E-mail:
llovell@scdallas.org
Kayla Craddick, Communications Intern
E-mail:
kcraddick@scdallas.org
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Our
Title Sponsor
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