Arron Oberholser
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Arron Matthew Oberholser (born February 2, 1975) is an American
professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...
and an analyst and commentator for the
Golf Channel Golf Channel (also verbally referred to as simply "Golf" or "NBC Golf") is an American sports television network owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, it is currently ba ...
.


Early life and amateur career

Oberholser was born in
San Luis Obispo, California ; ; ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfway betwee ...
. He attended
San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...
. In 1996, as a junior, he won six college golf titles during the regular season, matching
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
, a sophomore at
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
. 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.


Professional career

Oberholser turned professional in 1998. In 1999 he became an assistant coach for the golf program at
Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private university, private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university' ...
. He played on the
Canadian Tour PGA Tour Canada, commonly referred to as the Canadian Tour, was a men's professional golf tour headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The United States–based PGA Tour took over operation of the tour on November 1, 2012, at which time it was renamed ...
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 The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...
card. In 2001 Oberholser was a member of the second-tier tour in North America, the
Nationwide Tour The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at that level. ...
, but only competed three times due to a wrist injury. That year he had surgery to remove a bone chip from his right hand. 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 The Truist Championship is a professional golf tournament in North Carolina on the PGA Tour. Held in early May, usually at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, it has attracted some of the top players on the tour. It debuted in 2003 as the Wachov ...
, where he lost in a playoff. In November 2004, he won the Shinhan Korea Golf Championship, a PGA Tour-sanctioned "Challenge Season" event. In February 2006, Oberholser won a PGA Tour event, the
AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, held annually at Pebble Beach, California, near Carmel. The tournament is usually held during the month of February on two different courses, currently Pebble Beach ...
. In May, he shot a round of 60, 10-under par, to set a record at the Byron Nelson Championship. 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. Despite injuring his back early in 2007, by September of that year Oberholser was number 22 in the
Official World Golf Ranking The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolling ...
. In October 2007, he had surgery to remove a bone chip from his left hand; he had hurt the hand in April, but the need for surgery hadn't been identified then. He played in only 10 events in 2008, having hand surgery in July 2008, and only four events in 2009. In his final event of the year in October 2009, the Frys.com Open, Oberholser placed 33rd. Oberholser had a medical exemption for 2010, making him eligible to play in at least 14 events, but he had two more surgeries in May and October 2010. 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 The Phoenix Open (branded as the WM Phoenix Open for sponsorship reasons) is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, held in early February at TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona, United States. The tournament was originally the Arizo ...
, 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. In February, he missed the cut at the
Northern Trust Open The Genesis Invitational is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in Southern California, first played in 1926 as the Los Angeles Open. Other previous names include Genesis Open, Northern Trust Open and Nissan Open. Played annually in ...
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.” In March, he missed the cut at the
Shell Houston Open The Texas Children's Houston Open is a professional golf tournament in Texas on the PGA Tour, played in March. As a part of a restructuring of the schedule, the event moved to the fall in 2019. Because the tour year starts the previous fall, the ...
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. In late 2013, Oberholser was told that he had a bone spur on the
scaphoid The scaphoid bone is one of the carpal bones of the wrist. It is situated between the hand and forearm on the thumb side of the wrist (also called the lateral or radial side). It forms the radial border of the carpal tunnel. The scaphoid bone ...
, a bone near his wrist, which was causing very low blood flood in the region, and that surgery was risky. In 2013, as injuries impacted his playing career, Oberholser began working as a part-time analyst for the
Golf Channel Golf Channel (also verbally referred to as simply "Golf" or "NBC Golf") is an American sports television network owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, it is currently ba ...
. 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.


Personal life

In 2007, Oberholser married golfer Angie Rizzo, whom he had met on a driving range. She cut short her playing career as a
LPGA The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly ...
professional because of lingering effects of back injuries from a car crash.


Amateur wins

* 1997 Sahalee Players Championship * 1998
Eastern Amateur The Eastern Amateur is an annual amateur golf tournament. It has been played at Elizabeth Manor Golf and Country Club in Portsmouth, Virginia since 1957; the only exceptions were in 1977 when it was played at Sleepy Hole Golf Course in Suffolk, Virg ...


Professional wins (6)


PGA Tour wins (1)

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)


Buy.com Tour wins (2)

''*Note: The 2002 Utah Classic was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.'' Buy.com Tour playoff record (0–1)


Canadian Tour wins (2)


Other wins (1)


Results in major championships

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


Results in The Players Championship

"T" indicates a tie for a place


Results in World Golf Championships

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


See also

* 2002 Buy.com Tour graduates


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oberholser, Aaron American male golfers San Jose State Spartans men's golfers PGA Tour golfers Korn Ferry Tour graduates American golf commentators Golfers from California Golfers from Scottsdale, Arizona Sportspeople from San Luis Obispo, California 1975 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen