James Evangelo Nitties (born 23 October 1982) is an Australian

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 ...

who has played on the

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 ...

and now plays on the

PGA Tour of Australasia The PGA Tour of Australasia, currently titled as the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia for sponsorship reasons, is a professional golf tour for men, owned and operated by the PGA of Australia. Official events on the tour count for World Golf ...

Amateur career

Nitties was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. He suffered from juvenile

arthritis Arthritis is a general medical term used to describe a disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, Joint effusion, swelling, and decreased range of motion of ...

as a child and young adult, which restricted his flexibility. This caused him to have to take pain killers to restrict the pain from his back. In 2003, he won the

New Zealand Amateur The New Zealand Amateur is the national amateur golf championship of New Zealand. It has been played annually since 1893, except for the war years and the COVID-19 pandemic, and is organised by New Zealand Golf. Currently the event is played o ...

and finished second at the

Western Amateur The Western Amateur is a leading annual golf tournament in the United States for male amateur golfers. It is organized by the Western Golf Association. The Western Amateur features an international field of top-ranked amateur golfers. It was firs ...

to Ryan Moore in 19 holes. He turned professional in 2004.

Professional career

In 2004, Nitties joined the

NGA Hooters Tour The NGA Pro Golf Tour was a developmental golf tour based in the United States. The tour consisted of around 25 professional golf tournaments, making it the third largest series in the United States after the elite PGA Tour and its developmental ...

where he played for three years, winning once. While he played the Hooters Tour, he played a select few of events on 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. ...

and the

. Nitties took part on the Golf Channel's series The Big Break: Mesquite where he was eliminated during the 7th episode. Nitties qualified for the

in 2009 by finishing in a tie for second at

Q-school In professional golf, the term qualifying school is used for the annual qualifying tournaments for leading golf tours such as the U.S.-based PGA and LPGA Tours and the European Tour. A fixed number of players in the event win membership of the ...

with Derek Fathauer, behind

Harrison Frazar Harrison Frazar (born July 29, 1971) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and the Web.com Tour and currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. Amateur career Frazar was born in Dallas, Texas and was raised there an ...

. He had success in his rookie season on the PGA Tour in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, with two top ten finishes early at the

FBR 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 ...

, where he held the first round lead and the

Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun The World Wide Technology Championship is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in Mexico, contested at the Tiger Woods-designed El Cardonal golf course within the Diamante Cabo San Lucas resort. It debuted in February 2007 PGA Tour, 2007 ...

. He also shared the opening round lead at the

HP Byron Nelson Championship The Byron Nelson is a golf tournament in Texas on the PGA Tour, currently hosted by TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, northeast of Dallas. Held in May, it is one of two PGA Tour stops in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex – which until the 2020-21 ...

. He retained his tour card, finishing 96th on the money list. Nitties won the 2011 Midwest Classic on the Nationwide Tour. He finished 26th on the Nationwide Tour's money list, one spot short of a promotion to the PGA Tour. On 8 February 2019, Nitties matched the world record of nine consecutive birdies in the ISPS Handa Vic Open. His birdie run from the 15th to the fifth in the first round set a European Tour record and matched

Mark Calcavecchia Mark John Calcavecchia (born June 12, 1960) is an American professional golfer and a former PGA Tour member. During his professional career, he won 13 PGA Tour events, including the 1989 Open Championship. He plays on the Champions Tour as well ...

's feat in the 2009 Canadian Open.

Professional wins (5)

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (2)

Nationwide Tour wins (1)

NGA Hooters Tour wins (1)

Other wins (1)

Results in major championships

''Note: Nitties only played in the U.S. Open.''
CUT = missed the half-way cut

Team appearances

Amateur * Nomura Cup (representing Australia): 2003 (winners) *

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958 Eisenhower Trophy, 1958, it is nam ...

(representing Australia):

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Bonallack Trophy The Bonallack Trophy is an amateur golf competition on the model of the Ryder Cup which opposes every two years a European team and a team representing Asia/Pacific. The venue alternates between courses in Europe and Asia/Pacific. The first compe ...

(representing Asia/Pacific): 2004 (winners) * Australian Men's Interstate Teams Matches (representing New South Wales): 2002 (winners), 2003, 2004

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nitties, James Australian male golfers PGA Tour of Australasia golfers PGA Tour golfers Golfers from Melbourne Sportspeople from Newcastle, New South Wales 1982 births Living people Sportsmen from Victoria (state) 21st-century Australian sportsmen