Michael Rexford Nicolette (born December 7, 1956) is an American professional golfer and inventor who played on the PGA Tour in the 1970s and 1980s.
Early life and amateur career Nicolette was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
He attended Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida and was a member of the golf team. While a student at Rollins, he won the 1976 NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship.
Professional career In 1978, Nicolette turned professional. Nicolette had ten top-10 finishes in PGA Tour events during his career including a win at the 1983 Bay Hill Classic. In that tournament, he defeated Greg Norman in a playoff on the first extra hole. He was the first round co-leader at the 1988 U.S. Open but faded in the last three days. His best finish in a major championship was T-13 at the 1983 U.S. Open.
Parsons Xtreme Golf (PXG) hired Nicolette, who served as senior product designer for PING prior to joining PXG. Given no time or budget constraints, Nicolette worked on designing the first iteration of what would become the PXG 0311 forged iron.
Nicolette is named as an inventor on 179US Utility Patents of Michael R. Nicolette US Utility Patents , the majority of which are assigned to PXG.US Utility Patents of Michael R. Nicolette assigned to PXG He is also named on 255 US Design Patents of Michael R. Nicolette US Design Patents.
Amateur wins 1973 Pennsylvania State Junior Golf Championship 1976 NCAA Division II Championship
Professional wins (2) PGA Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up1Mar 13, 1983Bay Hill Classic−1 (66-72-71-74=283)Playoff Greg Norman
PGA Tour playoff record (1–0) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult11983Bay Hill Classic Greg NormanWon with par on first extra hole
Source:
Other wins (1) 1999 Arizona Open
Results in major championships Tournament1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988Masters TournamentT44CUTU.S. OpenT1359CUTT40PGA ChampionshipT47 Note: Nicolette never played in The Open Championship.
CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" = tied
See also Spring 1979 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates Fall 1981 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates 1985 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
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