Arron Oberholser

Arron Matthew Oberholser (born February 2, 1975) is an American professional golfer and an analyst and commentator for the Golf Channel.[2]

Arron Oberholser
Personal information
Full nameArron Matthew Oberholser
Born (1975-02-02) February 2, 1975
San Luis Obispo, California
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)
Nationality United States
ResidenceScottsdale, Arizona
Career
CollegeSan Jose State University
Turned professional1998
Retired2013
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Nationwide Tour
Canadian Tour
Professional wins6
Highest ranking22 (September 2, 2007)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour1
Korn Ferry Tour2
Other3
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT14: 2006
PGA ChampionshipT4: 2007
U.S. OpenT9: 2005
The Open ChampionshipT45: 2007

Career

Oberholser attended San Jose State University. In 1996, as a junior, he won six college golf titles during the regular season, matching Tiger Woods, a sophomore at Stanford University. In the 1996 postseason, competing for college Player of the Year, Woods won the regionals and the NCAA Championship, while Oberholser finished second in every statistical category.[3]

Oberholser turned professional in 1998. In 1999 he became an assistant coach for the golf program at Santa Clara University.[4] He played on the Canadian Tour in 1999 and 2000, finishing second on the Order of Merit in 2000. In December 2000, at the final round of PGA Qualifying School, he finished one stroke short of qualifying for a PGA Tour card.[4]

In 2001 Oberholser was a member of the second-tier tour in North America, the Nationwide Tour, but only competed three times due to a wrist injury. That year he had surgery to remove a bone chip from his right hand.[5]

In 2002 Oberholser finished second on the Nationwide Tour money list and won a place on the elite PGA Tour. In his first three seasons on the PGA Tour, he played well enough to retain his card; in those years his best finish was second at the 2004 Wachovia Championship, where he lost in a playoff. In November 2004, he won the Shinhan Korea Golf Championship, a PGA Tour-sanctioned "Challenge Season" event.[6]

In February 2006, Oberholser won a PGA Tour event, the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.[7] In May, he shot a round of 60, 10-under par, to set a record at the Byron Nelson Championship.[8] 2006 was his best season: he made 20 of 23 cuts, had 13 top-25 finishes, and ended the year 23rd on the PGA Tour money list.[9]

Despite injuring his back early in 2007,[5] by September of that year Oberholser was number 22 in the Official World Golf Ranking.[10] In October 2007, he had surgery to remove a bone chip from his left hand; he had hurt the hand in April,[11] but the need for surgery hadn't been identified then.[5] He played in only 10 events in 2008, having hand surgery in July 2008,[12] and only four events in 2009. In his final event of the year in October 2009, the Frys.com Open, Oberholser placed 33rd.[5]

Oberholser had a medical exemption for 2010, making him eligible to play in at least 14 events,[5] but he had two more surgeries in May and October 2010.[12] He did not play in 2010 or 2011.

In 2012, Oberholser played in two PGA Tour events. In the first, the Waste Management Phoenix Open, in early February, he missed the cut by one stroke. In the second, the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, in March, he withdrew after rounds of 70 and 69.

In 2013, Oberholser played in two PGA Tour events.[13] In February, he missed the cut at the Northern Trust Open by eight shots. With his left arm bothering him badly, he said "I can't tell you that I'm going to continue playing. I'm in a pretty precarious position, potentially looking at the end of my career.”[14] In March, he missed the cut at the Shell Houston Open by two shots. In September 2013, he tried to get back to the PGA Tour through the Web.com Tour Finals (those with medical extensions were allowed to compete in the series of tournaments), but was forced to withdraw after a hand injury.[10] In late 2013, Oberholser was told that he had a bone spur on the scaphoid, a bone near his wrist, which was causing very low blood flood in the region, and that surgery was risky.[15]

In 2013, as injuries impacted his playing career, Oberholser began working as a part-time analyst for the Golf Channel.[13] He is currently a part-time commentator and analyst for that television channel. He is also a co-host of the Center Cut Golf Podcast with PGATour.com's Senior Editor, Sean Martin.[16][10]

Personal

Oberholser was born in San Luis Obispo, California. In 2007, he married golfer Angie Rizzo, whom he had met on a driving range.[17] She cut short her playing career as a LPGA professional because of lingering effects of back injuries from a car crash.[12]

Amateur wins (2)

Professional wins (6)

PGA Tour wins (1)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 Feb 12, 2006 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am −17 (65-68-66-72=271) 5 strokes Rory Sabbatini

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2004 Wachovia Championship Joey Sindelar Lost to par on first extra hole

Buy.com Tour wins (2)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 Jun 9, 2002 Samsung Canadian PGA Championship −16 (70-70-62-66=268) 2 strokes Doug Barron
2 Sep 8, 2002 Utah Classic −14 (71-64-67=202) 2 strokes Doug Barron, Brian Claar

Buy.com Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2002 Virginia Beach Open Cliff Kresge Lost to eagle on second extra hole

Canadian Tour wins (2)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 Jul 18, 1999 Ontario Open Heritage Classic −20 (66-66-65-67=264) 11 strokes Tony Carolan, Ian Leggatt
2 Aug 8, 1999 Eagle Creek Classic −18 (69-64-70-67=270) 3 strokes Scott Rowe

Other wins (1)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runners-up
1 Nov 28, 2004 Shinhan Korea Golf Championship −4 (72-73-70-69=284) 2 strokes Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Kevin Na

Results in major championships
Tournament 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Masters Tournament T14 58 T25
U.S. Open T9 T16 CUT
The Open Championship CUT T45
PGA Championship T13 T28 CUT T4
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Results in The Players Championship
Tournament 2004200520062007
The Players Championship T66 T27 T45 T64

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships
Tournament200620072008
Match Play R32 R64 R32
Championship 12 T45 T51
Invitational T10 T14
  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied

See also

References
  1. "Week 35 2007 Ending 2 Sep 2007" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  2. "Arron Oberholser". Golf Channel. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  3. Lavner, Ryan (November 28, 2016). "One Time With Tiger: Arron Oberholser". Golf Channel. Archived from the original on September 6, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  4. "Men's Golf Assistant Coach Misses PGA Tour Card by One Stroke". Santa Clara University. December 4, 2000. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  5. Pinkela, Erik (November 1, 2007). "Oberholser battling through another injury". The Mercury News. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  6. "Oberholser takes title in Korea". BBC Sport. November 28, 2004. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  7. Ferguson, Doug (February 13, 2006). "Oberholser gets first Tour win at Pebble Beach". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  8. "Oberholser falls 1 shot short of magical 59". Chicago Tribune. May 13, 2006. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  9. Holmes, John (September 12, 2013). "Arron Oberholser might retire because of chronic hand problem". PGA of America. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  10. Kroichick, Ron (September 18, 2013). "Arron Oberholser senses end of his golf career is near". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  11. Nichols, Beth Ann (June 28, 2019). "Nichols: Michelle Wie just gave herself the best chance to compete past 30". GolfWeek. Retrieved June 29, 2019. Oberholser unknowingly played through the FedEx Playoffs with a broken bone in his hand. He had four surgeries, but the injury ultimately ended his career.
  12. Shipnuck, Alan (February 1, 2011). "A Champion in Waiting". Carmel Magazine. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  13. Gray, Will (September 18, 2013). "Hand injury likely career-ending for Oberholser". Golf Channel. Archived from the original on September 6, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  14. Leonard, Tod (February 18, 2013). "Harsh reality: Golfer Arron Oberholser's body betrays him again". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  15. Stewart, Jerry (November 27, 2013). "Local golf notebook: Former AT&T winner Arron Oberholser not giving up". Monterey Herald. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  16. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-center-cut-golf-podcast/id1500804455
  17. Crouse, Karen (March 25, 2013). "Ten Years Later, a Growing Appreciation for Sorenstam's Breakthrough". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
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