Commerce Bank Championship: Final-Round Notebook  PGA TOUR Staff EAST MEADOW, N.Y. -- Two days after celebrating his 54th birthday, Lonnie Nielsen won his first Champions Tour event in his 92nd career start at the Commerce Bank Championship on Sunday. Nielsen also played 124 PGA TOUR events and 14 tournaments on the Nationwide Tour without registering a win.  Lonnie Nielsen became the fourth first-time winner on the Champions Tour this year. (Mike Ehrmann/WireImage)
• A former PGA Professional near Buffalo, Nielsen has claimed numerous other events in the state of New York, including nine Western New York PGA Section Championships. He also won the New York State Open in 1985 and 1989. • Lonnie Nielsen became the fourth first-time winner on the Champions Tour this year, joining Keith Fergus (Ginn Championship), Scott Hoch (FedEx Kinko's Classic) and Denis Watson (Senior PGA Championship). Nielsen is the sixth player in tournament history to make the Commerce Bank Championship his first victory and third consecutive (Ron Streck, John Harris) at this event. Don Bies (1988), Dana Quigley (1997), Bobby Wadkins (2001) were the others. • Lonnie Nielsen's victory Sunday earned him a two-year invitation to the season-opening MasterCard Championship at Hualalai in Hawaii. • Lonnie Nielsen's best performance in three previous appearances in this event was a T16 in 2005. Prior to Sunday, Nielsen had registered just one top-10 finish in 2007, a T9 at the Toshiba Classic in Newport Beach, Calif., in March. • Lonnie Nielsen earned a check for $225,000, his largest amount ever, and vaulted into the top 20 on the 2007 money list with $412,921. • Tom McKnight birdied two of the last three holes to move up into solo third place, equaling his best performance ever on the Champions Tour. McKnight was T3 at the 2005 Ford Senior Players Championship. • The field at the Commerce Bank Championship averaged 70.611 this year compared to 70.742 in 2006 and 69.863 in 2005. In 2004, when the course was a par-70 layout, the field stroke average was 70.536 and in 2003 the field averaged 70.169. • On Sunday, the Red Course at Eisenhower Park played to a stroke average of 71.487 compared to 70.026 Saturday and 70.321 on Friday. There were just 17 rounds in the 60s today versus 36 Saturday and 26 on Friday. • John Harris finished T9, the best performance by defending champion since Jim Thorpe claimed back-to-back events in 2003-2004. • With his seventh top-10 finish this year, R.W. Eaks (T5) surpassed his career-best total for season earnings. Eaks has now earned $799,943 surpassing his previous-best total of $751,923. • One day after bettering his age, 72-year-old Jimmy Powell matched his age with a 72. • Lonnie Nielsen picked up 225 Charles Schwab Cup points and increased his yearly Schwab Cup points total to 263 total points. Jay Haas earned 48 points this week and now has collected 1,705 total points on the year. Denis Watson remains in second place with 1,120 points and Brad Bryant is third with 1,079 points. Loren Roberts earned 132 points for his second-place finish Sunday and moved his yearly Schwab Cup points total to 1,054. Eduardo Romero is in fifth position with 906 total points. At the end of the official season, the player earning the most points will earn the Charles Schwab Cup and receive a $1 million annuity. Copyright 2007 PGATOUR.com. All rights reserved. |
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