“I’m in a place on the money list where I can make a charge,” Nielson said. “There are two events left, and I’ve got nothing to lose.
“I’ve learned a lot about myself, how to do things for myself instead of focusing on what other people are doing. I’m not saying I’m putting myself in a hermit position. But I can do my own thing and strike a game plan.”Nielson has always been a quick study at whatever task she chose. In high school in Nashville, Tenn., it was basketball first, golf second before a golf scholarship to the University of Virginia won out. Hoops is still in her blood, thanks to the occasional Epson Tour pickup games on the road. Or acting? She played a munchkin and a poppy seed in a local production of “The Wizard of Oz” and the train conductor in “Music Man.” How about music? She taught herself to play the guitar last winter and now looks forward to learning more by getting an instructor this winter.
“When I was growing up, I played every sport possible,” Nielson said. “I was always busy. I think that has helped me with my career. There was never a dull moment. I was always going, always on run. I never played year-round golf until I got to college, unlike a lot of the girls who didn’t do anything but play golf.”
Golf got real serious in Charlottesville, Va., where Nielson was a multiple all-Atlantic Coast Conference and All-America selection, and the experience proved influential toward a career beyond playing. Jan Mann recruited Nielson to Thomas Jefferson’s university, and after Mann departed for North Carolina, Kim Lewellen stepped in. The influence of Lewellen, her husband, John, a volunteer assistant and an Episcopal minister, and volunteer assistant coach and noted golf psychologist Dr. Bob Rotella factored into Nielson deciding that she wanted to be a college coach one day. Nielson earned a Sociology degree in 2011 and is in her third season on the Epson Tour.
“I had an amazing experience with my college coaches; they were a real inspiration for me,” Nielson said. “They taught me everything I needed to know for golf. I realized I wanted to give back to the game just as much as I have been given.”
But before she gives, she wants to take a bit more. Bolstered by career bests of three top-10 finishes and a T3 at the Credit Union Classic in early August, Nielson aims to at least finish the season in the top 20 and move directly to the final stage of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament. A top-10 finish on the money list would earn the 2015 LPGA card. Her parents are in Kansas this week to support their daughter, who will continue to roll her bag on a trusty pull cart, nicknamed ‘Ruthie’ after her sponsor, Ruth’s Chis Steakhouse.
“I’m just going to keep my head about me,” Nielson said. “I’ll smile and enjoy what I’m doing.”
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