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John Morse (golfer)

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For other people named John Morse, see John Morse (disambiguation).

John Morse
Personal information
Full nameJohn Paul Morse
Born (1958-02-16) February 16, 1958 (age 66)
Marshall, Michigan
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight180 lb (82 kg; 13 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceMarshall, Michigan
Career
CollegeUniversity 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 ranking67 (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 TournamentCUT: 1995, 1997
PGA ChampionshipT41: 1996
U.S. Open4th: 1996
The Open ChampionshipT101: 1991

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

Amateur career

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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

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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 and 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 a birdie to tie the lead. His birdie attempt ran some 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

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  • 1978 Michigan Amateur
  • 1980 Big 10 Championship (individual medalist)

Professional wins (6)

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PGA Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runners-up
1 Jan 15, 1995 United Airlines Hawaiian Open −19 (71-65-65-68=269) 3 strokes United States Tom Lehman, United States Duffy Waldorf

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (3)

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

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1990 Australian Open Australia Craig Parry Won with par on first extra hole

Nike Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runners-up
1 Jun 27, 1993 Nike New England Classic −10 (72-70-68-68=278) 4 strokes United States Emlyn Aubrey, United States Pete Jordan,
United States Sam Randolph, United States Larry Silveira

Canadian Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 Aug 27, 1989 Lactantia Quebec Open −7 (68-71-70-68=277) Playoff United States Kirk Triplett

Playoff record

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Asia Golf Circuit playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1990 Sanyang Republic of China Open Philippines Frankie Miñoza Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Results in major championships

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Tournament 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997
Masters Tournament CUT CUT
U.S. Open CUT CUT CUT 4 T68
The Open Championship T101 CUT
PGA Championship CUT T41
  Top 10
  Did not play

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

See also

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References

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  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".
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