Rory Sabbatini, South Africa

Rory was born in Durban, 1976. He was recruited by the University of Arizona and turned professional after graduation in 1998. In 1999 he joined the PGA Tour.

He has since won 6 PGA Tour events, but he is never far away from controversy. In 2005, he was playing along side Ben Crane, who is a notorious slow player. Sabbatini got annoyed with waiting for Crane to take his shot , so after he had hit his he continued to walk past Crane and up to the green where he had hit his ball. This caused him to get a lot of bad press from colleagues and the golfing public.

During the first decade of the 2000s, Sabbatini had five PGA Tour wins; he finished 2006 placed 12th on the money list. In September 2007, he reached the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time, with a high of 8th. He spent over 20 weeks in the top-10 in 2007 and 2008.  

Sabbatini tied for second at the 2007 Masters Tournament and the 2007 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. He won the Par 3 Contest at the 2008 Masters Tournament.  

Sabbatini has represented South Africa in the World Cup five times and won the event with Trevor Immelman in 2003. In his first Presidents Cup appearance in 2007, Sabbatini had a 0-3-1 record, as the International team was defeated by the United States team. In May 2009 Sabbatini captured his fifth PGA Tour title by winning the HP Byron Nelson Championship by two strokes. He broke the tournament record for scoring with a score of 269 (-19), beating the previous record of 270 (-18). In March 2011 Sabbatini won his sixth PGA Tour Title at The Honda Classic with a one stroke victory.

Career Wins;

Mar 2011 - The Honda Classic
May 2009 - HP Byron Nelson Championship
May 2007 - Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial
Feb 2006 - Nissan Open
Dec 2003 – WGC World Cup
Jun 2003 - FBR Capital Open
Dec 2002 – WGC World Cup
Sep 2000 - Air Canada Championship