IRVING, Tex. -- In the first EDS Byron Nelson Championship since the tournament's namesake passed away, Scott Verplank, long an admirer and friend of the World Golf Hall of Famer, won the 2007 tournament.

A native of Dallas, Verplank was a child when he first met Nelson and eventually played a few rounds of golf with him. So it was fitting that Verplank would make three birdies and two pars coming in a year ago to win his fifth PGA TOUR title and first since 2001. Verplank was one of nine players older than 40 to win on the 2007 PGA TOUR.

The tournament in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Tex., had been played on two courses since 1994 but will go back to one site this year: the recently renovated TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas.

The EDS Byron Nelson Championship is also one of the leading charitable contributors on the PGA TOUR. Since 1968, the event has raised more than $100 million for charity.

Trevor Immelman is making his first PGA TOUR start since winning the Masters Tournament two weeks ago. Immelman is 14th in the FedExCup standings. This will be Immelman's third appearance at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. He tied for 40th in his debut in 2005 and was runner-up to Brett Wetterich in 2006, losing by one stroke.

By winning the 2007 tournament, Scott Verplank became the fourth player over age 40 to win this event and the first since Vijay Singh in 2003.

The 2007 win for Dallas resident Scott Verplank came in his 21st appearance in the event, the most starts by a winner claiming his first EDS Byron Nelson Championship. In 1999, Loren Roberts won in his 17th start. Those with at least 21 starts without a win include Mark Brooks (23 starts), Tom Byrum, Tom Kite, Hal Sutton and D.A. Weibring (22 starts) and Dave Stockton and Bobby Wadkins (21 starts).

Luke Donald, the 2007 runner-up, continued his streak of rounds in the 60s at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship a year ago. His previous 12 rounds at the tournament have all been in the 60s. Donald and 2007 champion Scott Verplank were the only two players to post four rounds in the 60s last year.

Brett Wetterich, the 2006 champ, tied for 10th in 2007, becoming the first defending champion since Fred Couples (tied for 10th) in 1988 to record a top-10 at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship the year after his win.

Australian Rod Pampling's final-round 66 last year allowed him to tie for 10th, securing his second consecutive top-10 finish at the tournament. He tied for eighth in 2006.

In 2007, amateur Colt Knost, a senior at nearby Southern Methodist University, fired a 64 in Friday's second round at the TPC Las Colinas course and was the first amateur to make the cut at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship since Justin Leonard in 1993. Knost went on to tie for 67th. Knost's 64 is the lowest round by an amateur in tournament history. The previous record was held by Frank Wharton, who shot 65 in the final round of the 1956 Dallas Centennial Open.

The EDS Byron Nelson Championship is one of four annual stops in Texas, along with the Shell Houston Open, the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial (Fort Worth) and the Valero Texas Open (San Antonio).

This week, numerous awards honoring the memory of Byron Nelson will be given. The Byron Nelson Prize honors someone in the golf world who embodies what Nelson stood for, while the Byron Nelson International Junior Golf Awards go to five junior golfers from around the world who exhibit good sportsmanship, academic achievement and commitment to giving back.

A $10 million redesign of the TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas will greet the 156-player field this week, as will a one-course format for the first time since 1994. Utilizing input from dozens of PGA TOUR players, including player consultants J.J. Henry and Harrison Frazar, Champions Tour member D.A. Weibring and his partner, Steve Wolfard (both of the Golf Resources Group), redesigned every hole at the course. Some of the major changes that will be evident will be traditional square tee boxes, softer mounding, better sight lines and white-faced bunkers framing the fairway and green complexes.

In addition, a redesigned 20,000-square-foot putting and chipping green will be in use during the tournament. "Of Byron's many accomplishments in golf, he kept the EDS Byron Nelson Championship closest to his heart," said Weibring. "It was important to do what Byron would have wanted, and we had him in mind throughout every step of this project."

A second consecutive Verizon Heritage title was enough to move Boo Weekley into seventh place in the FedExCup standings, an improvement of 26 positions over last week. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson remain in the first and second places, respectively, while Stewart Cink moved into third after a strong performance last week on Hilton Head Island, where he tied for seventh. Vijay Singh is fourth, with Geoff Ogilvy rounding out the top five.

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