Byron “By” Adams

“By” Adams won four state sand green golf championships, more than any other in Nebraska Golf history.

In 1951 at the Country Club of Lincoln, he became the first sand green champ to capture the state amateur grass green title.

A resident of Phoenix, prior to his death, September 29, 1993, Adams was born in Tilden, NE. He graduated from Grand Island High School in 1938 and from the University of Nebraska in 1943. He lived much of his adult life in Fairbury and later in Omaha before moving out of state.

During the WWII of 1942 and 1943, “By” served as both player and coach of the Nebraska Golf team, but his notoriety as a top golfer started much earlier than that. Adams was the medalist in the Grand Island City Championships at the age of 14 and won that tournament in the summers of 1936, 37, and 38 following his sophomore, junior and senior years in high school.

“By” also won the state high school championship both as a junior and a senior. Also, during the summer following his senior year, at the age of 17, Adams won the first of his sand green titles. His others came in 1939, 53, and 53. He also won the Lincoln City championship in 1943, 46, and 48.