John Morse (golfer)

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John Morse
Personal information
Full nameJohn Paul Morse
Born (1958-02-16) February 16, 1958 (age 67)
Marshall, Michigan
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight180 lb (82 kg; 13 st)
Sporting nationalityFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Residence Marshall, Michigan
Career
College University of Michigan
Turned professional1981
Current tour(s) Champions Tour
Former tour(s) PGA Tour of Australasia
European Tour
Nationwide Tour
PGA Tour
Professional wins6
Highest ranking 67 (January 27, 1991) [1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour1
PGA Tour of Australasia2
Korn Ferry Tour1
Other2
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament CUT: 1995, 1997
PGA Championship T41: 1996
U.S. Open 4th: 1996
The Open Championship T101: 1991

John Paul Morse (born February 16, 1958) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the Champions Tour.

Contents

Amateur career

Morse was born in Marshall, Michigan. He attended the University of Michigan and was an All-American member of the golf team and Big-10 Champion in 1980. He won the 1978 Michigan Amateur and was the Big 10 Championship individual medalist in 1980. He turned professional in 1981.

Professional career

Morse began his career playing in tournaments in and around his home state of Michigan and eventually the Florida Tour.

Morse first made a name for himself on the Australasian Tour. One of Morse's finest performances on the Australasian Tour came in a runner-up performance in 1990. At that year's Australian Masters, Morse finished only two shots back from world number one Greg Norman while tying world number two Nick Faldo. [2] Later in the year he would improve on that performance defeating Norman and Faldo, who remained #1 and #2 in the world, at the Australian Open. [3] The win helped Morse move up to a world ranking high of #67 by the beginning of the next year. [4]

In 1993, Morse returned to the United States in an attempt to earn his PGA Tour card. He played on the developmental Nike Tour and played very well, ultimately winning the 1993 Nike New England Classic. He earned his PGA Tour card by finishing fifth on the 1993 Nike Tour money list. He was 35 years old when he joined the tour. [5]

Morse played full-time from 1994 to 1998. He was never a star on tour but did record a win the 1995 Hawaiian Open. He finished 42nd on the 1995 Money List. [6] The following year he recorded his best finish at a major championship: solo 4th at the 1996 U.S. Open. [7] In addition Morse picked up a runner-up finish at the 1995 Buick Challenge.

John Morse came to the 72nd Hole of the 1996 U.S. Open at 1-under par only one stroke off the lead held by Steve Jones and Tom Lehman and tied with Davis Love III, who had just completed play at 279. Morse hit the fairway off the 18th tee then hit the green in regulation leaving himself a putt of just over 30 feet for birdie to tie the lead. His birdie attempt ran 4 feet past and the ball lipped out on his comeback putt for par. Morse finished the U.S. Open at EVEN for a total of 280 and 4th place alone.

Morse joined the Champions Tour in 2008. His best finish was T-3 at the 2008 AT&T Championship.

Morse was known for using very heavy golf clubs, much heavier than his contemporaries.

Morse was inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame in 2006.

Amateur wins

Professional wins (6)

PGA Tour wins (1)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runners-up
1Jan 15, 1995 United Airlines Hawaiian Open −19 (71-65-65-68=269)3 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Tom Lehman, Flag of the United States.svg Duffy Waldorf

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (3)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1Mar 11, 1990 Monro Interiors Nedlands Masters −13 (67-69-70-69=275)2 strokes Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ray Picker, Flag of Australia (converted).svg Terry Price
2Dec 2, 1990 Australian Open −5 (72-70-73-68=283)Playoff Flag of Australia (converted).svg Craig Parry
3Nov 10, 1991 Air New Zealand Shell Open −7 (67-67-66-73=273)3 strokes Flag of Sri Lanka.svg Nandasena Perera

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (1–0)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 1990 Australian Open Flag of Australia (converted).svg Craig Parry Won with par on first extra hole

Nike Tour wins (1)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runners-up
1Jun 27, 1993 Nike New England Classic −10 (72-70-68-68=278)4 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Emlyn Aubrey, Flag of the United States.svg Pete Jordan,
Flag of the United States.svg Sam Randolph, Flag of the United States.svg Larry Silveira

Canadian Tour wins (1)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner-up
1Aug 27, 1989 Lactantia Quebec Open −7 (68-71-70-68=277)Playoff Flag of the United States.svg Kirk Triplett

Playoff record

Asia Golf Circuit playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 1990 Sanyang Republic of China Open Flag of the Philippines (navy blue).svg Frankie Miñoza Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament19841985198619871988198919901991199219931994199519961997
Masters Tournament CUTCUT
U.S. Open CUTCUTCUT4T68
The Open Championship T101CUT
PGA Championship CUTT41
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

See also

References

  1. "Week 4 1991 Ending 27 Jan 1991" (pdf). OWGR . Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  2. "1990 Australian Masters". Official World Golf Ranking. Archived from the original on May 2, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  3. "1990 Australian Open". Official World Golf Ranking. Archived from the original on May 1, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  4. "John Morse –1991". Official World Golf Ranking. Archived from the original on April 23, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  5. "Michigan Golf News Vol. 6 No. 8". Michigan Golfer On-line. February 24, 2006.
  6. "Stat – Official Money". PGA Tour. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  7. "Golf Major Championships".