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GAVIN COLES

AUSTRALIA

Height:

5 ft, 5 in

Weight:

160 lbs

Birthday:

10/19/1968

Follow Me:

Turned Pro:1992
Birthplace:Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia
Residence:Winter Garden, FL

PGA TOUR - Media Guide

Nationwide Tour VICTORIES (5)
2002  Jacob's Creek Open Championship.  2004  New Zealand PGA Championship.  2006  Legend Financial Group Classic Presented by Cynergies Solutions.  2008  Chitimacha Louisiana Open Pres'd by Dynamic Industries.  2011  Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open Presented by Planters. 
Current Year PGA TOUR Money and Position (193)
$75,733
Current Year Nationwide Tour Money and Position ()
$
Current Year PGA TOUR Best Round
66 at Round 2, Sony Open in Hawaii.
Current Year Nationwide Tour Best Round
68 at Round 2, Chitimacha Louisiana Open.
Current Year Nationwide Tour Highlights

Opened the season with a T6 at the Panama Claro Championship.

..Then missed the next cut in his next 12 events before finally finding a suitable replacement driver for his favorite which cracked earlier in the year.

It was not until August that he regained his form, finishing solo second at the Price Cutter Charity Championship. Played the par-5, 18th hole in 7-under for the four days. Runner-up check moved him up 72 spots on the money list, to No. 37.

Led for a portion of the final round at the WNB Golf Classic in October before a pair of bogeys late in his round led to a T4 finish.

Three weeks later, he captured his fifth Nationwide Tour title, winning the Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open by one shot over Jonas Blixt. His 6-under-par winning score was the highest of the season. A clutch birdie on the 17th hole, the third toughest hole of the week, gave him a two-shot cushion going to the final hole. He moved from 45th on the money list to 15th.
Best PGA TOUR Finishes
T7-- Shell Houston Open.
Best Nationwide Tour Finishes
1-- Jacob's Creek Open Championship, New Zealand PGA Championship, Legend Financial Group Classic Presented by Cynergies Solutions, Chitimacha Louisiana Open Pres'd by Dynamic Industries, Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open Presented by Planters.
2011 Best Nationwide Tour Finishes
1-- Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open Presented by Planters. 2-- Price Cutter Charity Championship Presented by Dr Pepper. T4-- WNB Golf Classic. T6-- Panama CLARO Championship.
2011 Season Nationwide Tour
Tournaments Entered--24; in money--9; Top 10 finishes--4
Career Highlights

Member of the Nationwide Tour in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008-11 and the PGA TOUR in 2003, 2005, 2007. 2011: Finished the season No. 17 on the Nationwide Tour money list, guaranteeing his first trip to the PGA TOUR since the 2008 season.

Opened the season with a T6 at the Panama Claro Championship, but then missed the cut in his next 12 events before finally finding a suitable replacement driver for his favorite which cracked earlier in the year.

It was not until August that he regained his form, finishing solo second at the Price Cutter Charity Championship. Played the par-5, 18th hole in 7-under for the four days. Runner-up check moved him up 72 spots on the money list, to No. 37.

Led for a portion of the final round at the WNB Golf Classic in October before a pair of bogeys late in his round led to a T4 finish.

Three weeks later, he captured his fifth Nationwide Tour title, winning the Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open by one shot over Jonas Blixt. His 6-under-par winning score was the highest of the season. A clutch birdie on the 17th hole, the third toughest hole of the week, gave him a two-shot cushion going to the final hole. He moved from 45th on the money list to 15th. 2010: Made the cut in 17 of 23 cuts and had 10 top-25 finishes to wind up No. 38 on the final money list.

Began the year with a T9 finish at the Michael Hill New Zealand Open.

At the Fresh Express Classic at TPC Stonebrae, posted four rounds in the 60s to finish T5, his best Nationwide Tour performance since finishing T3 at the 2009 Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational.

Recorded his third top-10 finish of the season, at the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic. Posted four rounds in the 60s to finish T7, including a 65 Saturday, his best round of the year. 2009: Finished by making the cut in 11 of his final 13 starts but didn't crack the top-10 in his last nine events and ended the season No. 31 on the money list. Was T7 at the HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship. Held the first-round lead at the Fort Smith Classic, where he finished T3, missing a playoff by one stroke. Was T3 at the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational. Entered the final round in second place, three strokes back of leader Dave Schultz. Ended the season No. 7 in Driving Accuracy (76.94 percent). 2008: Earned his fourth career title while making only eight starts on the Nationwide Tour. Bookend, 1-under 70s and matching 5-under 66s in the middle rounds led to a one-stroke victory over Kyle Thompson at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open. The win was worth $94,500 and moved him to sixth at the time on the official money list. Entered the Miccosukee Championship, his seventh event of the season, 68th on the money list. Finished T3, with four rounds in the 60s, jumping to 50th on the money chart, earning a spot in the Nationwide Tour Championship at TPC Craig Ranch, where he finished T16.

Made the cut in 11 of 16 starts on the PGA TOUR in 2008 with his lone top-10 a T8 at the Stanford St. Jude Championship. 2007: Returned to the PGA TOUR, thanks to a 16th-place finish on the 2006 Nationwide Tour money list. In his fourth start of the 2007 season, posted four rounds of par or better to finish T9 at the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun, his second career PGA TOUR top-10. Next top-10 of the season was a T10 at the 2007 Buick Open, three strokes behind champion Brian Bateman.

Has finished inside the top 20 and collected a win in each of his three seasons on the Nationwide TOUR, at the 2002 Jacob's Creek Open Championship, the 2004 New Zealand PGA Championship and the 2006 Legend Financial Group Classic, his first win in the U.S. Fired rounds of 67-71-68-68 to finish 10-under 274, one shot clear of Bradley Hughes. 2006: Added two runner-up finishes, at the Peek'n Peak Classic and the Utah EnergySolutions Championship. Fired a course-record 10-under 61 at the Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open. Also had five events on the PGA TOUR after receiving a Minor Medical Extension but did not make enough money to keep his card for the remainder of the season. 2005: Finished out of top 125 in second year on PGA TOUR, but received a Minor Medical Extension due to rib injury suffered at the John Deere Classic. He missed the better part of two months (July-August). Held a share of the 36- and 54-hole leads at the Shell Houston Open. Paired with co-leader Vijay Singh in the final round and posted a 3-over-par 75 to fall to T7. Leader or co-leader for first 10 holes Sunday, but double bogey-6 on No. 11 dashed title hopes. Earned career-best $140,417 for first top-10 of PGA TOUR career. 2004: Finished 20th on the Nationwide Tour money list to earn TOUR card for 2005. 2003: Best finish of rookie season on PGA TOUR was a T56 at The International. 2002: Finished 13th on the Nationwide Tour money list, winning the season's first event, the Jacob's Creek Open Championship, by two strokes over Bryce Molder. The victory was his first after seven years as a professional, spent mostly on the Australasian Tour.
Personal

Golf instructors include Gary Edwin.

Hometown of Bathurst is famous in Australia for having the biggest car race of the year. Normally the population of the town would be 30,000, however on the weekend of the race, the town swells to 150,000.

Favorite college team is the Florida Gators. Favorite professional team is the Green Bay Packers. Favorite movie is "Transformers." Favorite food is an Aussie meat pie.

Biggest thrill outside of golf is delivering second son on the kitchen floor.
Nationwide TourPlayoff Record
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