Associated Press
Thursday, March 16

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Mike Nicolette, who designs clubs for Ping Golf the other 51 weeks of the year, gave himself virtually no chance to win the Bay Hill Invitational despite a bogey-free 69 that left him one stroke out of the lead Thursday.

Then again, he didn't fancy the odds 17 years ago, either.

Nicolette was a one-hit wonder in 1983 when he recorded the only victory of his shortlived PGA Tour career by beating Greg Norman in a playoff at Bay Hill. Five years later, he quit the tour and was rarely heard from again except when Ping introduced a new club.

He showed up again Thursday in the strangest place -- the leaderboard.

Only those who have been coming to Bay Hill the past two decades had even remote knowledge of the name posted up there with the likes of Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Mark O'Meara.

"Most people think I'm Corey Pavin," said the 5-foot-9, mustachioed Nicolette. "If you're not up on your golf trivia, you have no idea who I am."

For 18 holes in blustery conditions, Nicolette could hardly recognize his own game. For one day, he had the same score as Woods.

"I'm a good golfer. I'm not a great golfer," Nicolette said. "I'm not in their league. Today I was in their league. Tomorrow might be a municipal course round and I shoot 89. It's just a privilege to be here."

The only reason Nicolette is in a field that includes six of the top seven players in the World Ranking is because he won Bay Hill in 1983 and gets in as a past champion.

"This is my full schedule," he said. "This is a vacation. If I play good, great. If not, I'm going to Disney. I have zero expectations and zero pressure."

That's not the way it's always been. Nicolette played in an era when most guys had to qualify on Monday just to tee it up on Thursday.

"When this is your only source of income and your game is not very good, there's a lot of pressure," he said.

There was a little pressure in 1983 when he faced a 215-yard shot over the water from the right rough, hit a 5-iron hopeful of catching a flier and got just that. Nicolette forged a tie with Norman and won on the first extra hole when Norman three-putted.

What Nicolette remembers more than anything is a picture of him with his eyes closed as the ball left his putter on the 3-foot par putt for the win.

"It was a lot of fun to win," he said.

That never happened again. Nicolette realized his fortunes might lie elsewhere in 1988 after four years of finishing no higher than 131st on the money list.

Why did he quit?

"Lack of talent and funds," he deadpanned. "Does that sum it up pretty good?"

He landed a job with Ping and helps critique the new clubs that come out of the Solheim factory. Nicolette likes being at home with his wife and three kids every night. And he still gets to play a little bit.

He won the Arizona State Open last year, and finished eighth in the Argentina Open -- he was down there to help launch the new line of Ping i3 irons.

And he comes to Bay Hill every year, when his back is in good enough shape. Sometimes, his game is pretty good, too.

At least for one day.

"I hate to say it, but my true game will probably show up here very shortly," he said.

That's OK. Even if an 89 is on tap for the second round, Nicolette can still take the family to the Magic Kingdom.