Rory Sabbatini is one of those personalities that galleries either love, hate, or love
to hate. But no matter where you stand on the issue, one thing is certain:
‘Sabbo’ brings plenty of excitement wherever and whenever he tees it up.
Born and raised in Durban, Sabbatini now resides in Texas with his family. He started
playing the game at the tender age of four and at 16 was an SA Amateur semi-finalist. In
1992 and 1993 he represented South Africa in the Junior National Team before leaving for
college, in America, in 1994. He earned All-American honours in 1997 and 1998 while
representing the University of Arizona, with a highlight being his runner-up finish to
Tiger Woods at the 1996 NCAA Championship.
A year later, Sabbatini joined the PGA Tour, becoming the youngest tour member at the
time, and within a year won his maiden Tour title at the Air Canada Championship. Three
years later he won his second title, the FBR Open, but it was after winning the 2006
Nissan Open that Sabbatini really made his presence felt, following that victory with five
top-10 finishes and a final ranking of 12th on the money list.
In 2007 Sabbatini had a great year on the course while courting controversy off it with
some colourful statements about Tiger Woods and the pace of play on the PGA Tour, amongst
other subjects.
But this is a man with a big heart, who supports a non-profit organization called the
Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, providing financial support for the families of military
personnel lost in performance of their duty.
He does have a habit of providing the press with ample ammunition to have a pop at him,
but he appears more inclined to rise to the ‘challenge’ than extinguish the
flames. He is certainly not disinclined to make controversial statements simply because
the media has been giving him a hard time.
In many ways 2008 has not been the greatest year for Sabbatini. On the PGA Tour this
year he played in 20 tournaments with a best finish of second place at the Sony Open in
Hawaii. He also collected a third place finish at the Buick Invitational in what was a
promising start to the year.
In total, Sabbatini collected $1,412,277 in prize money on the PGA Tour this year. Not
a bad return, but someway short of the $4,550,040 he pocketed in 2007. He did, however,
manage one event victory this year at the Masters’ par-3 contest, the winner of which
has never gone on to win the Masters. Sabbatini, determined to buck the trend, said after
his win: "You can’t break the curse unless you’ve won the par-3 contest to
start with. I’m not a very superstitious person. I don’t believe in
curses."
Last year was Sabbatini’s debut at the Nedbank Golf Challenge and he finished in a
creditable fifth position on six under par. What made his performance all the more
impressive, however, is that he opened with a 76, effectively ending his title challenge
before it had even really started.
Despite the sluggish start he battled back to shoot 68, 67 and 71 at the challenging
par-72 Gary Player Country Club course.
Sabbatini’s performance epitomized the fighting qualities for which the pugnacious
right-hander has become known, and the Nedbank Golf Challenge offers him the perfect
chance to end his year in style. | 
