| Frank Nobilo | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Frank Ivan Joseph Nobilo |
| Born | 14 May 1960 Auckland, New Zealand |
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) |
| Nationality | New Zealand |
| Residence | Auckland, New Zealand |
| Career | |
| Turned professional | 1979 |
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour European Tour PGA Tour of Australasia |
| Professional wins | 15 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 1 |
| European Tour | 5 |
| Asian Tour | 3 |
| PGA Tour of Australasia | 1 |
| Best results in Major Championships |
|
| Masters Tournament | 4th: 1996 |
| U.S. Open | T9: 1994 |
| The Open Championship | T10: 1997 |
| PGA Championship | T8: 1996 |
| Achievements and awards | |
| Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit |
1998 |
Frank Ivan Joseph Nobilo, CNZM (born on 14 May 1960) is a professional golfer from New Zealand.
Nobilo had a successful playing career, winning 15 pro tournaments around the world. He was at his peak during the mid 1990s when he also produced strong finishes in all four major championships.
Since retiring from tournament golf in 2003, Nobilo has worked as an analyst for the Golf Channel's Champions Tour and PGA Tour coverage.
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Nobilo was born in Auckland, of Croat and Italian descent, and is the great grandson of an Italian pirate.[1] At birth, his right leg was shorter than his left, which has caused him some back problems throughout his life. He was educated at St Peter's College in Auckland where he was persuaded to play golf by schoolmates (Chris Treen and Mark Lewis). Nobilo used to play Rugby League for Glenora and not Rugby Union for St Peter's which was "a bone of contention" with the school. "I got a bit of grief because I preferred league over rugby then and I was a bit more of a rebel. I used to catch the train to and from school and it took about 30-40 minutes. My mum said it drove her crazy because I missed it often and my parents were living in Glen Eden and I would end up in Henderson and they'd have to come and collect me".[2]
Nobilo and his wife, Selena, married in 1998. He has a daughter, Bianca Nobilo, from a previous marriage. Nobilo works as an ambassador for The House of Nobilo, one of New Zealand's leading wineries and founded by one of his relatives Nikola Nobilo.[3] Nobilo was awarded the Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) in 1998.
In 1978, Nobilo won the New Zealand Amateur Championship at 18, the second-youngest winner of this title. He turned professional in November 1979. His first professional win came in 1982 at the New South Wales PGA Championship on the PGA Tour of Australasia.
Nobilo joined the European Tour in 1985 as a full-time player, having played in selected events in 1982 and 1983. He recorded his first win on the Tour in the 1988 PLM Open (not to be confused with the KLM Open). Nobilo subsequently won four other European Tour events and finished inside the top 50 on the Order of Merit every season from 1988 to 1996, with a best of 14th place in 1993.
After strong performances in all the majors, including a 4th place finish in the Masters Tournament and a tie for 8th in the PGA Championship, Nobilo left Europe at the end of 1996 and joined the United States based PGA Tour for the following season. He won the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic during his rookie season, which proved to be his only win on that tour. He has featured in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings.
One week after his marriage to Selena in 1998, Nobilo was struck above the left eye by an errant tee shot at the Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Central Florida. The injury required 30 stitches, and affected his play afterwards.
Nobilo played for the International Team in each of the first three Presidents Cups (1994, 1996, 1998). He contributed significantly to the international appeal of the event when in 1998 and paired with fellow kiwi Greg Turner he holed a 70 foot putt on the final green to defeat the American pairing. On October 2, 2008, International Presidents Cup team captain Greg Norman announced that Frank Nobilo will serve as his assistant captain for the 2009 Presidents Cup Oct. 6-11 2009 at Harding Park Golf Course in San Francisco.[4]
Nobilo retired from professional golf in 2003 because of injuries, and subsequently joined the Golf Channel,[5] where he works as an analyst and commentator for the network's PGA and Champions Tour coverage, in addition to appearing on the Sprint Post Game and Golf Central.
On 9 October 2007, it was reported that Nobilo had announced he would be coming out of retirement, and attempt to gain a card for the U.S. PGA Tour through qualifying school. However, in a statement issued on the Golf Channel's website, Nobilo denied the report: "I have not, nor did I have any intention of entering this years PGA Tour Qualifying school."[6]
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning Score | Margin of Victory | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apr 27, 1997 | Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic | -14 (69-69-69-67=274) | Playoff | Brad Faxon |
| Tournament | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| The Open Championship | T59 | DNP | DNP | DNP | T16 |
| PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| Tournament | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT | 4 | 46 | CUT | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open | DNP | DNP | DNP | T9 | T10 | T13 | T36 | T40 | DNP | CUT |
| The Open Championship | T73 | T33 | T51 | T11 | T68 | T26 | T10 | CUT | T18 | DNP |
| PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | T22 | T47 | CUT | T8 | T29 | CUT | DNP | DNP |
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
Amateur
Professional
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