Groton — Eric Egloff is spending his summer on a golf tour around New England.

"What's there not to like about New England?," said Egloff, who's from Sandy Spring, Md. "I love it up here."

At his latest stop at Shennecossett Golf Course in Groton, the 51-year-old Egloff survived tricky windy conditions that challenged golfers during the second round to emerge as the champion Tuesday in his Connecticut Senior Open debut.

Entering final round tied for fourth, Egloff finished at 1-under 141 overall (69-72), nipping Ken Green of New Fairfield and first-round leader Dave Dell of Simsbury by one stroke. John Elliott of Westerly tied for fourth with a 2-over 144 (70-74).

No one shot better than Egloff's 1-over 72 on Tuesday. He shot even par on the front nine and then followed a bogey on No. 10 with consecutive birdies to put him into the lead at 3-under. Not even a double bogey on No. 14 could prevent him from outlasting the field.

"I hit it pretty well," Egloff said. "The course played so different than it did (Monday). I played early (Monday) and it was a little softer. Today, the wind was from a different direction and just played a lot more difficult to get the ball around the hole."

Prior to the tournament, Egloff played Shennecossett just once, about 10 years ago with Jim West, who's now the pro at Connecticut National in Putnam.

"I didn't really remember much about it," Egloff said. "Then we came out on Sunday and played and I remembered the fourth hole, that one stuck out. But I love the golf course. It's really just a great test. It's just an old-school great test."

Egloff, who once played on the Cleveland Tour, started the day trailing Dell by two strokes. But Dell stumbled, ringing up two bogeys and a double bogey on the first four holes, leaving the door open, and Egloff eventually stepped through.

For the third Connecticut Senior Open, Elliott's championship bid fell short. He finished as runner-up in 2014 and tied for 11th last year.

Elliott, a Norwich Free Academy graduate, was in great position after a birdie on No. 11 dropped him to even par on the day. But he faded late, posting a bogey on three straight holes starting with No. 14.

He summed up his play by saying that he didn't drive, chip or putt well. It was the highest score that he's shot in about 10 rounds.

"I couldn't get anything in the hole and made some mistakes," Elliott said. "I knew if I shot three or four under I could win. I hit some fat shots and didn't make any putts. ... It wasn't a lot of fun. I've shot 64s in this wind, but I never got anything going. I don't think I played three holes in a row that were smooth for two days."

Maine is the next stop on Egloff's tour. He'll play in the Greater Bangor Open this week and Maine Open next week. Elliott will join him in both fields.

Next month, Egloff will play in his first U.S. Senior Open in Columbus, Ohio. Tuesday's championship victory will serve as a confidence-booster. "You need to get under the gun as much as you can because experience only helps you," he said. "It's a hard game to play."

In local results, Bill Hermanson of East Lyme finished in the top 20, tying for 19th overall with a 149 (74-75). Mark Toscano of Westerly had a 150 (72-78), Dave Jones of Norwich fired a 151 (75-76), Sean Grimsey of Waterford had a 161 (73-88) and Michael Myszkowski shot a 164 (75-89).

g.keefe@theday.com