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Gil Morgan

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Gil Morgan
Morgan in 2009
Personal information
Full nameGilmer Bryan Morgan II
NicknameDoc
Born (1946-09-25) September 25, 1946 (age 78)
Wewoka, Oklahoma
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceEdmond, Oklahoma
Career
CollegeEast Central State College
Southern College of Optometry
Turned professional1972
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins41
Highest ranking22 (February 3, 1991)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour7
Japan Golf Tour1
PGA Tour Champions25 (Tied 4th all time)
Other8
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT3: 1984
PGA Championship3rd/T3: 1980, 1990
U.S. Open3rd: 1983
The Open ChampionshipT10: 1980
Achievements and awards
Senior PGA Tour
Rookie of the Year
1997
Senior PGA Tour
Byron Nelson Award
2000, 2001

Gilmer Bryan Morgan II, OD (born September 25, 1946) is an American professional golfer.

Early life

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Morgan was born in Wewoka, Oklahoma. He graduated from East Central State College in Ada, Oklahoma in 1968.

Professional career

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In 1972, Morgan earned a Doctor of Optometry degree from the Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, Tennessee before turning professional at golf later that year. He is a member of Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity.

Morgan won seven events on the PGA Tour between 1977 and 1990. He was also one of the most consistent top five finishers during this period. He posted 21 2nd place and 21 3rd place finishes on the PGA Tour in his career.[2] The most prestigious tournament he won on the PGA Tour was the 1978 World Series of Golf. He also played on the 1979 and 1983 Ryder Cup teams.

Although he never won a major title during his time on the PGA Tour, Morgan showed signs of brilliance. For example, during the 1992 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, Morgan became the first player to reach 10-under-par (−10) during U.S. Open competition when he recorded a birdie on the third hole during the third round. He later added two more birdies to reach −12 after the seventh hole. He would later finish badly to finish at −4. This was good enough for the 54-hole lead. However, a final round 81 left him +5, in a tie for 13th place and eight shots behind eventual winner Tom Kite[3] Morgan also led the 1976 PGA Championship after 36 holes but finished T8.

He became eligible to play on the Champions Tour in 1996. He has enjoyed much success on the Champion's Tour notching 25 wins. Three of his wins have come in senior majors, namely The Tradition in 1997 and 1998 and the Senior Players Championship in 1998.

Professional wins (41)

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PGA Tour wins (7)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 Sep 11, 1977 B.C. Open −14 (67-65-69-69=270) 5 strokes United States Lee Elder
2 Feb 19, 1978 Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open −6 (66-69-73-70=278) 2 strokes United States Jack Nicklaus
3 Oct 1, 1978 World Series of Golf −2 (71-72-67-68=278) Playoff United States Hubert Green
4 Jul 1, 1979 Danny Thomas Memphis Classic −10 (72-71-69-66=278) Playoff United States Larry Nelson
5 Jan 9, 1983 Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open −9 (65-71-68-67=271) Playoff United States Curtis Strange, United States Lanny Wadkins
6 Jan 16, 1983 Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open (2) −14 (71-68-63-68=270) 2 strokes United States Lanny Wadkins
7 Jun 3, 1990 Kemper Open −10 (68-67-70-69=274) 1 stroke Australia Ian Baker-Finch

PGA Tour playoff record (3–4)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1978 World Series of Golf United States Hubert Green Won with par on first extra hole
2 1979 Danny Thomas Memphis Classic United States Larry Nelson Won with birdie on second extra hole
3 1980 Pleasant Valley Jimmy Fund Classic United States Wayne Levi Lost to par on fourth extra hole
4 1981 Buick Open United States Bobby Clampett, United States Hale Irwin,
United States Peter Jacobsen
Irwin won with birdie on second extra hole
5 1983 Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open United States Curtis Strange, United States Lanny Wadkins Won with birdie on second extra hole
6 1983 Kemper Open Taiwan Chen Tze-chung, United States Fred Couples,
United States Barry Jaeckel, United States Scott Simpson
Couples won with birdie on second extra hole
Jaeckel eliminated by par on first hole
7 1990 Independent Insurance Agent Open United States Tony Sills Lost to par on first extra hole

PGA of Japan Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 Oct 8, 1978 Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters −11 (68-67-68-70=273) 3 strokes United States Jerry Pate

Other wins (4)

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Champions Tour wins (25)

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Legend
Champions Tour major championships (3)
Tour Championships (1)
Other Champions Tour (21)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 Oct 6, 1996 Ralphs Senior Classic −11 (68-68-66=202) 1 stroke United States Jim Colbert, United States Chi-Chi Rodríguez
2 Apr 6, 1997 The Tradition −22 (66-66-67-67=266) 6 strokes Japan Isao Aoki
3 Jun 1, 1997 Ameritech Senior Open −6 (67-69-74=210) 1 stroke United States Hale Irwin
4 Jun 8, 1997 BellSouth Senior Classic −14 (69-66-67=202) 2 strokes South Africa John Bland
5 Aug 17, 1997 First of America Classic −9 (69-67-71=207) 1 stroke United States Bob Duval
6 Nov 2, 1997 Ralphs Senior Classic (2) −15 (67-66-65=198) 1 stroke United States George Archer
7 Nov 9, 1997 Energizer Senior Tour Championship −16 (69-66-66-71=272) 2 strokes United States Hale Irwin
8 Jan 18, 1998 MasterCard Championship −21 (65-66-64=195) 6 strokes United States Gibby Gilbert, United States Hale Irwin
9 Feb 8, 1998 LG Championship −6 (69-73-68=210) 2 strokes United States Dale Douglass, United States Raymond Floyd
10 Apr 5, 1998 The Tradition (2) −12 (71-66-69-70=276) 2 strokes United States Tom Wargo
11 Jul 12, 1998 Ford Senior Players Championship −21 (69-64-68-66=267) 3 strokes United States Hale Irwin
12 Aug 2, 1998 Utah Showdown −16 (66-67-67=200) 4 strokes Japan Isao Aoki, United States John Mahaffey
13 Oct 4, 1998 Vantage Championship −12 (66-67-65=198) 1 stroke United States Hale Irwin
14 Sep 12, 1999 Comfort Classic −15 (67-65-69=201) 2 strokes United States Ed Dougherty
15 Sep 26, 1999 Kroger Senior Classic −18 (67-68-63=198) 2 strokes United States Ed Dougherty
16 Mar 26, 2000 Emerald Coast Classic −13 (65-65-67=197) 4 strokes United States Larry Nelson
17 Jul 23, 2000 Instinet Classic −17 (67-66-66=199) 4 strokes United States Bruce Fleisher, United States Bob Murphy
18 Sep 10, 2000 Comfort Classic (2) −13 (64-67=131)* 1 stroke United States Jim Ahern
19 Feb 11, 2001 ACE Group Classic (2) −12 (71-67-66=204) 2 strokes United States Dana Quigley
20 Jun 17, 2001 Instinet Classic (2) −15 (63-69-69=201) 2 strokes United States Tom Jenkins, United States J. C. Snead
21 Jun 16, 2002 BellSouth Senior Classic (2) −14 (67-68-67=202) 3 strokes United States Bruce Fleisher, United States Mike McCullough,
United States Dana Quigley
22 Sep 7, 2003 Kroger Classic (2) −16 (65-67-68=200) 2 strokes United States Doug Tewell
23 Mar 14, 2004 SBC Classic (3) −14 (67-66-69=202) 2 strokes United States Larry Nelson
24 Jun 4, 2006 Allianz Championship −16 (66-64-67=197) 1 stroke United States Loren Roberts
25 Sep 2, 2007 Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach −14 (70-65-67=202) 2 strokes United States Hale Irwin

*Note: The 2000 Comfort Classic was shortened to 36 holes due to rain.

Champions Tour playoff record (0–6)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1997 Emerald Coast Classic Japan Isao Aoki Lost to par on second extra hole
2 2000 Bruno's Memorial Classic United States John Jacobs Lost to par on first extra hole
3 2000 Vantage Championship United States Jim Dent, United States Larry Nelson Nelson won with birdie on sixth extra hole
Dent eliminated by birdie on first hole
4 2001 Toshiba Senior Classic Spain José María Cañizares Lost to birdie on ninth extra hole
5 2005 Bayer Advantage Classic United States Dana Quigley, United States Tom Watson Quigley won with birdie on first extra hole
6 2007 Boeing Classic United States R. W. Eaks, United States David Eger,
Japan Naomichi Ozaki, United States Dana Quigley,
United States Craig Stadler, Zimbabwe Denis Watson
Watson won with eagle on second extra hole
Eger, Ozaki, Morgan and Quigley eliminated by birdie on first hole

Other senior wins (4)

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Playoff record

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European Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 1978 European Open Scotland Bernard Gallacher, United States Bobby Wadkins Wadkins won with birdie on first extra hole

Results in major championships

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Tournament 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament CUT T18 T31
U.S. Open T41 CUT CUT
The Open Championship CUT
PGA Championship T17 T8 T15 T4 T28
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament T19 T21 CUT T8 T3 CUT
U.S. Open T16 CUT T22 3 T21 T23 T51 CUT WD
The Open Championship T10 CUT T22
PGA Championship T3 T19 T22 T55 CUT T28 CUT T21 CUT CUT
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996
Masters Tournament CUT T50 CUT
U.S. Open T56 CUT T13 CUT CUT
The Open Championship T64 T14 CUT
PGA Championship 3 T16 T21 CUT T39 T31 T41
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1979 and 1982 Open Championships)
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied

Summary

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Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 1 1 2 5 12 7
U.S. Open 0 0 1 1 1 6 17 9
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 1 3 7 4
PGA Championship 0 0 2 3 4 11 22 17
Totals 0 0 4 5 8 25 58 37
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (1982 PGA – 1984 Open Championship)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (twice)

Results in The Players Championship

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Tournament 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997
The Players Championship T58 CUT T65 T40 T20 T12 T31 T12 T47 T23 T44 CUT T58 T6 T6 CUT CUT CUT T3 T68 T13 T53
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Champions Tour major championships

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Wins (3)

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Year Championship Winning score Margin Runner(s)-up
1997 The Tradition −22 (66-66-67-67=266) 6 strokes Japan Isao Aoki
1998 The Tradition (2) −12 (71-66-69-70=276) 2 strokes United States Tom Wargo
1998 Ford Senior Players Championship −21 (69-64-68-66=267) 3 strokes United States Hale Irwin

U.S. national team appearances

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Professional

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Week 5 1991 Ending 3 Feb 1991" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  2. ^ "Gil Morgan – Profile". PGA Tour. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  3. ^ GOLF; An Ocean of Contenders After Morgan's Cliff Dive
  4. ^ "Gil Morgan wins Brazilian tourney". The Jackson Sun. Jackson, Tennessee. AP. November 5, 1979. p. 6. Retrieved May 15, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Gil Morgan, EUA, venceu o Heublein Open de Golfe". Folha de S.Paulo (in Portuguese). São Paulo, Brazil. November 5, 1979. p. 12. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
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