Bachelor Nitties focuses on golf
BY Bruce Young | 13 Nov 2009
Newcastle’s James Nitties might not be yet be considered the glamour boy of Australian golf but it seems the ABC Network in the US may well have recognised something in the 27 year old that has to date avoided the attention of Australian golf fans and media.
Earlier this year Nitties management was approached to investigate whether the rookie on the PGA Tour in 2009 would be interested in a role as the star on one of American television’s highest ranking shows, The Bachelor.
The Bachelor is a reality TV show involving one Bachelor and 25 women, with one woman eliminated per show until the Bachelor and the lady he has chosen remain.
Further meetings took place after the initial approach by the Network but while ABC was still showing interest as late as September, Nitties and his management made the decision to withdraw from consideration.
“It was a great offer and a great opportunity for James in many respects,” said his manager Lyn Whitehouse.
“It was down to the final two but at this stage of his career it is important that James focuses on his golf, especially given that he has just established himself on the PGA Tour and so we jointly made the decision during the Barclays tournament in September to respectfully withdraw before the final selection was made.”
In 2007 Nitties was involved in an another reality TV Show in the US when he was a participant on the Golf Channel’s Big Break show which he still considers important in learning how to handle nerves that such exposure brings.
“I figured that it gave me the chance to win US$100,000, plus if I did well it could have gained sponsors invites.”
“If I look back at it now I didn’t gain much out of it other than experience. I have never been as nervous as I was during the show and so it was invaluable in that regard.”
After several years battling away on mini tours and or a period suffering from the debilitating illness (Juvenile Reactive Arthritis), Nitties is in a very good place right now. Given the manner in which he is playing this week at Kingston Heath a decision to focus on his chose professional career ahead of the fame that the role as The Bachelor could have delivered is a sound one.
It probably always was.
