Champions Tour Insider: Nielsen wins (again) in N.Y.

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Lonnie Nielsen has won two times as a professional golfer -- and both of those victories have come in New York.

Home is where the heart is. And for Lonnie Nielsen, the victories, too.

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Nielsen spent 20 years as a club professional in the Buffalo area. When he returns to New York with the Champions Tour, the warm, fuzzy feelings return on and off the course.

It happened again Sunday when Nielsen won the Dick's Sporting Goods Open one day before his 56th birthday. He's won twice on the Champions Tour, both under similar circumstances. Two years ago, he won the Commerce Bank Championship on Long Island two days after his 54th birthday.

"I guess it's my time of year to play," Nielsen said. "I like it when it's hot. So this is the time of year I start to play, June, July, August, (have) always been the best part of my season. It's always nice to have another reason to celebrate (a birthday)."

And celebrations are always best with close friends nearby and Nielsen had plenty around at En-Joie Golf Club in Endicott.

Nielsen is an Iowa native who played the PGA TOUR for six years beginning in 1977. He got a club job in suburban Buffalo in 1984 and spent the next two decades in western New York. The Nielsens left only after Lonnie got his Champions Tour card.

"I just felt like we needed to spend the winters someplace else other than Buffalo so off to Florida we went," he said. "Sold our house, much to my wife's chagrin. Then the last couple of years we decided we would move back and we want to spend the summers (in New York). We still have two children living in Buffalo, and we have a new grandson, five months old."

At En-Joie, Nielsen shot a final-round 63, a round that was ignited by four birdies and an eagle on the first five holes. The 63 was the lowest finish by a winner on the Champions Tour this year. It helped Nielsen shoot a record 21-under-par 195 for a 3-shot victory over Ronnie Black and Fred Funk.

"What a start," Nielsen said. "Gosh, I never could have dreamt of a start like that. I thought if I could have birdied three of the first five holes, I would have loved to have had that start.

"I had a lot of breaks that went my way and the first one came on the first hole. I watched Gary Hallberg putt on a similar line and his ball broke a little to the left. And I had about a 25-foot putt that was breaking and was well left of the hole, and for some reason it got a foot of the hole and it broke back the right. I have no idea why it did but thankful that it did."

Nielsen called the 60-foot birdie putt at the third "a miracle.

"I hit it way too hard but it was right on line," he said. "It hit the back of the hole and went in. It might have saved me two shots. So it was a huge putt and a big confidence boost."

That's the way it continued for Nielsen. He tackled a tough pin on the fourth hole, over water, with a tentative approach facing a tricky putt. There was nothing iffy about Nielsen's response -- he hit it to within four feet.

"Another real confidence boost," he said.

Confidence -- call it state of mind, if you like -- is a large part of Nielsen's game. That's reflected by what happened after his fine approach shot to the 18th hole Sunday.

"I'm I'm walking back to my bag," he said. "I was proud as punch, trying to act cool like I do those every day, and Jay Haas put the knuckles out. He knew what a tough shot that is. And that was the favorite moment of mine with Jay. He is a hell of a player. He's been through it many times before. He knew what a tough shot that was so it meant a lot."

Nielsen made 24 birdies and an eagle after suffering a double-bogey jolt on the second hole of the tournament where he hit an approach into the water.

"I've never had a week l ike that, never been even close to 20-under-par for three rounds," he said. "To think back, walking off the second hole of the tournament, making the most ridiculous stumble I ever made in my life.

"I knew I was playing well, and I thought, 'How can you do something that stupid when it was so unnecessary?' Just hit it 10, 12 feet past the hole and deal with it."

Nielsen rebounded to shoot an opening round 66 to put himself into contention, and kept grinding to finally overcome Funk's lead.

"I'm just more confident when I'm on the golf course than I was," Nielsen said. "I tried this back in the late '70s, early '80s, and just didn't believe in myself. I'm getting much better at that."

Success breeds success.

"It's that much easier to believe in myself the next time," Nielsen said. "That's really what this game, at this level, is all about.

"My first win was beyond belief for me. I mean, you dream about doing it and it just never really thought I'd ever get the job done. I had been close a few times and I just hadn't pulled the shots off when I needed them up until two years ago on Long Island. I really drew on that experience. We've done this before, we can do it again. You just have to stay in that moment and not get ahead of yourself and think about what it means."

Champions Tour Insider notes:

• Nielsen donates $50 for every birdie and $500 for every eagle to the GIVE Foundation -- Golfers for Injured Veterans Everywhere. The foundation provides opportunities for veterans to play golf, have a place for fellowship and more.

"To get back and feeling like they're part of society again," Nielsen said. "We owe so much to our veterans for the peace and the way of live that we have here in the United States, so I really felt I needed to do something for our veterans."

• Ronnie Black's T2 finish at Dick's was his best on any tour since a solo second at the 1989 Centel Classic on the PGA TOUR.

• It shouldn't surprise anyone that Funk played well again in Endicott, N.Y. He won the B.C. Open there in 1996 and was runner-up on two other occasions.