 December 6, 2006 - Las Vegas, NV: Chad Saladin, who earlier this season won the Gleneagle Invitational, while finishing sixth on the Tour's money list, is the winner of the 2006 Byron Nelson Award, voted on by the U.S. Pro Golf Tour staff. The Byron Nelson Award serves to exemplify the Tour's "outstanding gentleman" who best represents the legacy of the late Byron Nelson. "I don't know what to say, as this is such a tremendous honor," said Saladin. "I'm not sure what I did to deserve this, but it certainly tops any award I've ever received." Aside from Saladin representing the best on Tour, his genuine appreciation for the hundreds of volunteers didn't go unnoticed. "Golf, since the beginning of the game, has been known as a gentleman's game,” Jon Bradley of Byron Nelson Interests, said. “There was no better example of that than Byron Nelson. We are pleased that the U.S. Pro Golf Tour will continue Byron's legacy by giving the Byron Nelson Award to a player that displays the true character of a gentleman while competing on Tour, and we congratulate Chad Saladin on winning this award."
Inscribed on the Byron Nelson Award trophy are the words "Be good to the game and give back," words Nelson said to Ken Venturi after Venturi asked how he could pay Nelson back. “We are truly honored that Byron Nelson Interests has allowed us to name this award after a man who’s unquestioned dedication to the truest values of the game of golf is second-to-none,” said Philip Bough, Tour Commissioner. “While we have many deserving of the honor, the Byron Nelson Award singles out the one U.S. Pro Golf Tour player who treats all with the proper respect and dignity of a gentleman, and that man is Chad Saladin.”
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