BUFFALO, N.Y. — The PGA Tour and Western New York golf community are mourning the loss of the Lonnie Nielsen.
The former PGA Tour player and Champions Tour winner passed away Thursday at the age of 67. Nielsen was a longtime member of the Western New York PGA.
As a player, Nielsen competed on the PGA Tour from 1978 to 1983, then took the position of Director of Golf at the Crag Burn Club in East Aurora, which he held from 1984 to 2003.
Nielsen returned to professional golf in 2004 on the Champions Tour, where he found success, winning the 2007 Commerce Bank Championship and the 2009 Dick’s Sporting Good Open. He ended his competitive career in 2012.
Nielsen is member of the WNYPGA Hall of Fame and the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame; he was inducted into the latter in 2018.
Nielsen was involved in countless charitable endeavors through the game of golf and inspired many current PGA Club Professionals to pursue the profession.
