Lonnie Nielsen

JOINED TOUR

• PGA TOUR: 1978

PGA TOUR Champions Victories (2)

• 2007 Commerce Bank Championship
• 2009 Dick's Sporting Goods Open

PLAYOFF RECORD

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS (0-1)

• 2006 Lost to Eduardo Romero, JELD-WEN Tradition

Special Interests

• Boating, movies

Career Highlights

2010 Season

A pair of knee surgeries limited his season to just six events. Underwent left-knee surgery on January 19 which delayed the start of his season until the Toshiba Classic in early March.

• Montreal Championship: Made his last start in early July at the Montreal Championship before deciding to undergo right knee replacement surgery later that month (July 21), ending his season.
• Principal Charity Classic: Was inducted into the Iowa Golf Hall of Fame during the week of The Principal Charity Classic.
• Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf: First top-10 finish came in April when he teamed with Brad Bryant to finish seventh at the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf.

2009 Season

• Dick's Sporting Goods Open: Claimed his second Champions Tour title, at the Dick's Sporting Goods Open, besting Fred Funk and Ronnie Black by three strokes at En-Joie GC. Started the final round three strokes back of Funk, but quickly took the lead early Sunday when he opened with a run of four birdies and an eagle. His 20-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole provided the cushion he needed to cruise to victory, his second title in the state of New York. His final-round 63 matched a career-low, and his 21-under 195 total was the best 54-hole score on the Champions Tour during the year. Posted 24 birdies in his run to victory, the most by any player in a 54-hole event in 2009 and the most since R.W. Eaks had 24 at the 2008 3M Championship. Closing-round 63 was low finish by a winner.
• Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am: Was four strokes off the lead after 36 holes of the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am and carded a final-round 70 at TPC Tampa Bay to finish T3, three strokes back of Nick Price.

2008 Season

Improved his standing on the money list for the fifth consecutive year, placing 11th, six spots higher than in 2007. Had a career-best season, capped by reaching the $1-million mark in earnings for the first time ($1,224,012), with a career-high nine top-10 finishes, matching his combined totals of the previous two years.

• Administaff Small Business Classic: Earned another second-place finish when he ended two strokes shy of Bernhard Langer at the Administaff Small Business Classic in October. Held a one-stroke lead over Langer starting the back nine Sunday, but Langer made birdies on Nos. 11, 13 and 14 to take the lead for good.
• Commerce Bank Championship: Made a strong bid at defending his Commerce Bank Championship title but, along with Nick Price, eventually finished T2 on Long Island, one stroke back of Loren Roberts. Started the final round three strokes back of Roberts and carded a final-round 66 on the Red Course at Eisenhower Park.
• Regions Charity Classic: Made the biggest comeback of any player in the field at the Regions Charity Classic. Eventually finished T5 in Birmingham after being ranked T45 after the first round. Carded scores of 66-68 on the weekend at Ross Bridge.
• Ginn Championship Hammock Beach Resort: Was the first-round leader at The Ginn Championship at Hammock Beach and eventually finished T2 along with Tim Simpson, eight strokes back of Bernhard Langer. Performance at Palm Coast was his best since winning the 2007 Commerce Bank Championship.

2007 Season

Experienced a breakout season on the Champions Tour and earned a trip to the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship for a third consecutive year. At the time, earned a personal-best $989,722 and finished 17th on the money list, his highest standing at the time.

• Dick's Sporting Goods Open: Continued his success in New York when he grabbed a solo third-place finish at the inaugural Dick's Sporting Goods Open.
• Commerce Bank Championship: Highlight was his first win on the Champions Tour in his 92nd career start. Edged Loren Roberts by two strokes at the Commerce Bank Championship. Moved into the lead Saturday with his low round of the year, a 7-under 64 that included four birdies in a five-hole stretch on the back nine. Took a three-stroke lead into the final round and sealed the deal with key par saves down the stretch. Victory came just two days after his 54th birthday and made him the third consecutive first-time winner at Eisenhower Park.

2006 Season

• JELD-WEN Tradition: Made a serious challenge for his first career win but fell in a one-hole playoff to Eduardo Romero at the JELD-WEN Tradition in late August near Portland, OR. Fired four straight sub-par rounds and made a birdie on the 72nd hole to earn a spot in the playoff with Romero. However, hit an errant tee shot into a bunker on the first extra hole and was never able to recover as Romero ended the playoff with a birdie to earn his first American victory.

2005 Season

• 3M Championship: Top effort came in August at the 3M Championship where his birdie-eagle finish on the final two holes included making 124 feet of putts that vaulted him into a T2 with Craig Stadler, one stroke back of eventual winner Tom Purtzer.

2004 Season

• Champions Tour Q-School: Attempted to improve his exempt status at the National Qualifying Tournament in the fall. Finished in a tie with Des Smyth after six rounds at the King and Bear in St. Augustine, FL, and eventually placed ninth when Smyth did not participate in a playoff.
• SAS Championship presented by Forbes: Best performance in his first full season came in late September when he finished T5 at the SAS Championship near Raleigh.

2003 Season

Twice open-qualified on the Champions Tour after turning 50 in June.

• Champions Tour Qualifying Tourn Finals: Earned fully-exempt status for 2004 by finishing T4 at the Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament at the TPC Eagle Trace in Florida. Was just one of five players in the field to record four sub-par rounds and finished with a 72-hole total of 7-under-par 281. Earned a spot in the finals by virtue of his third-place finish at the PGA Senior Club Pro Championship.
• Turtle Bay Championship: T31 at the Turtle Bay Championship in Hawaii.
• Constellation Energy Classic: Was T47 at the Constellation Energy Classic near Baltimore.