Lonnie Nielsen

Lonnie Nielsen
Personal information
Full name Lonnie Dean Nielsen
Born (1953-06-29) June 29, 1953
Belle Plaine, Iowa
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st)
Nationality  United States
Residence Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Orchard Park, New York
Spouse Mary Jo (1977-present)
Children Sarah, Mollie, Andrew
Career
College University of Iowa
Turned professional 1976
Current tour(s) Champions Tour
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
Professional wins 39
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour Champions 2
Other 37
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament DNP
U.S. Open CUT: 1977, 1983
The Open Championship DNP
PGA Championship T11: 1986

Lonnie Dean Nielsen (born June 29, 1953) is an American professional golfer.

Nielsen was born and raised in Belle Plaine, Iowa. His father started him in golf as a youngster on the sand green courses in and around his hometown. He attended the University of Iowa, where earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1976.[1][2][3]

Nielsen was a member of the PGA Tour from 1978–1983 but did not win any tournaments. He has won over 30 other tournaments though, most of which were played in New York.[2][3]

Nielsen became a member of the Champions Tour upon reaching the age of 50 in the summer of 2003. He won his first Champions Tour event at the Commerce Bank Championship in 2007. His second Champions Tour win came in 2009 at the Dick's Sporting Goods Open, where he came from three strokes behind Fred Funk in the final round with a 9 under par 63 to win by three strokes.[2]

In 2009, Nielsen became the first tour professional to serve as a lead contributor to the GIVE (Golf For Injured Veterans Everywhere) Foundation.[3]

Nielsen was inducted into the Iowa Golf Hall of Fame in 2010.[4]

Professional wins (38)

Regular career wins (34)

  • 1979 Waterloo Open Golf Classic
  • 1984 Western New York PGA Match Play Championship
  • 1985 New York State Open, Western New York Section PGA Championship
  • 1986 Western New York PGA Match Play Championship, Western New York Section PGA Championship
  • 1987 Western New York Section PGA Championship
  • 1988 PGA Match Play Championship, PGA Stroke Play Championship
  • 1989 New York State Open, Western New York Open, Western New York Section PGA Championship, PGA Match Play Championship
  • 1990 Western New York Open, Western New York PGA Match Play Championship, Western New York Section PGA Championship
  • 1991 Western New York PGA Match Play Championship
  • 1993 Western New York PGA Match Play Championship, Western New York Open, Western New York Section PGA Championship
  • 1994 Western New York PGA Match Play Championship, Western New York Section PGA Championship
  • 1995 Western New York Open
  • 1996 Western New York Section PGA Championship
  • 1997 Western New York Open
  • 1998 Western New York Open, Western New York PGA Match Play Championship
  • 1999 Western New York PGA Match Play Championship
  • 2000 Western New York Section PGA Championship
  • 2001 Western New York PGA Match Play Championship
  • 2002 Western New York PGA Match Play Championship, Western New York Open
  • 2003 Western New York Open
  • 2013 Western New York Section PGA Championship, Western New York PGA Match Play Championship

Champions Tour wins (2)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of victoryRunner(s)-up
1 Jul 1, 2007 Commerce Bank Championship −14 (66-64-69=199) 2 strokes United States Loren Roberts
2 Jun 28, 2009 Dick's Sporting Goods Open −21 (66-66-63=195) 3 strokes United States Ronnie Black, United States Fred Funk

Champions Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2006 JELD-WEN Tradition Argentina Eduardo Romero Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Other senior wins (2)

  • 2003 Otesago Senior Open Championship, Turning Stone Seniors Championship

Results in major championships

Tournament 1977 1978 1979
U.S. Open CUT DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP T11 T56 CUT CUT
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996
U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship CUT T70 DNP DNP CUT DNP CUT

Note: Nielsen never played in the Masters Tournament nor The Open Championship.
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.

U.S. national team appearances

  • PGA Cup: 1988 (winners), 1996 (tie)

References

  1. ↑ "Profile on PGA Tour's official site". PGA Tour. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 "PGA Tour Media Guide – Lonnie Nielsen". PGA Tour. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 "Champions Tour Professional, Iowa Native Lonnie Nielsen To Lead Birdies For Heroes Challenge In Support Of The GIVE Foundation". GIVE Foundation. February 13, 2009. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Iowa Golf Hall of Fame – Lonnie Nielsen". Iowa Golf Association. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.