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Gil Morgan
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EXEMPT STATUS: Top 31 on 2001 SENIOR
TOUR Money List
FULL NAME: Gilmer Bryan Morgan II
HEIGHT: 5-9
WEIGHT: 175
BIRTHDATE: September 25, 1946
BIRTHPLACE: Wewoka, OK
RESIDENCE: Edmond, OK
FAMILY: Wife, Jeanine; Molly (5/18/81), Maggie (8/10/82), Melanie
(9/24/84)
EDUCATION: East Central State College (1968, B.S.), Southern
College of Optometry (1972, Doctor of Optometry)
SPECIAL INTERESTS: Cars
TURNED PROFESSIONAL: 1972
JOINED TOUR: 1996
CLUB AFFILIATION: Oak Tree Golf Club, Edmond, OK
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| PGA TOUR Victories |
| (7) 1977 B.C. Open. 1978 Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open, World Series
of Golf. 1979 Danny Thomas Memphis Classic. 1983 Joe Garagiola-Tucson
Open, Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open. 1990 Kemper Open. |
| SENIOR TOUR Victories |
| (20) 1996 Ralphs Senior Classic. 1997 The Tradition Presented by
Countrywide, Ameritech Senior Open, BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland,
First of America Classic, Ralphs Senior Classic, Energizer SENIOR
TOUR Championship. 1998 MasterCard Championship, LG Championship,
The Tradition Presented by Countrywide, FORD SENIOR PLAYERS Championship,
Utah Showdown Presented by Smith's, Vantage Championship. 1999 Comfort
Classic, Kroger Senior Classic. 2000 Emerald Coast Classic, The Instinet
Classic, Comfort Classic. 2001 ACE Group Classic, The Instinet Classic. |
| International Victories |
| 1998 Senior Slam at Los Cabos, 1999 Senior Slam at Los Cabos, 1999
Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Hubert Green). |
| Other Victories |
| 1978 Taiheiyo Masters. 1981 and 1997 Oklahoma Open. |
| Current Year Charles Schwab Cup Points and
Positions |
| 144 (17th) |
| Current Year SENIOR PGA TOUR Money and Positions |
| $286,167 (16) |
| Current Year SENIOR TOUR Best Finishes |
| T3--SBC Senior Classic; T7--Toshiba Senior Classic |
| Current Year SENIOR TOUR Best Round |
| 66 at Round 2, Toshiba Senior Classic |
| Current Year SENIOR TOUR Highlights |
| Finished T3 at SBC Senior Classic. Nearly holed 270-yard 3-wood
shot on par-5 finishing hole in final round. Sank four-foot putt for
eagle, but missed Tom Kite-Hale Irwin playoff by one stroke...Was
in contention at the Toshiba Senior Classic before finishing T7. |
| Best 2001 SENIOR TOUR Finishes |
| 1--ACE Group Classic, The Instinet Classic; 2--Toshiba Senior Classic,
Allianz Championship, Verizon Classic, U.S. Senior Open; T3--3M Championship;
4--The Countrywide Tradition; 5--Bruno's Memorial Classic, Enterprise
Rent-A-Car Match Play Champ, BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland,
SENIOR TOUR Championship; T6--Emerald Coast Classic; T9--TD Waterhouse
Championship |
| 2001 Season SENIOR TOUR |
| Tournaments Entered--24; in money--24; Top-10 finishes--14 |
| 2001 Season Highlights |
| Was troubled by a sore back throughout the season and only played
three events in a row once after February...Still managed to earn
his second consecutive Byron Nelson trophy for best scoring average
(69.20) and posted multiple victories and seven figures in official
earnings for a fifth straight year...Was only over par in nine of
his 70 rounds and had 37 scores in the 60s last year...Earned Player
of the Month honors in February after a win and a second-place finish...Secured
his 19th title on the SENIOR TOUR early in the year when he held off
Dana Quigley by two strokes to win The ACE Group Classic, his second
senior victory in Naples. Final-round 66 at Pelican Marsh Golf Club
included a clutch birdie at the par-3 17th hole when his 7-iron shot
stopped three feet from the hole. Followed up his win in Naples with
a runner-up performance at the Verizon Classic and then lost to Jose
Maria Canizares in a nine-hole playoff at the Toshiba Senior Classic.
Successfully defended his title at The Instinet Classic, going wire-to-wire
to edge J.C. Snead and Tom Jenkins by two strokes. His 9-under 63
in the opening round at the TPC at Jasna Polana was a course record
and included both a double eagle (#7-driver/3-iron) and eagle, a first
on the SENIOR TOUR since Homero Blancas turned the trick at the 1996
Hyatt Regency Maui Kaanapali Classic...Was in contention down the
stretch at the U.S. Senior Open, but bogeyed the final hole at Salem
Country Club to fall one stroke short of Bruce Fleisher...Also finished
solo second to Jim Thorpe at the inaugural Allianz Championship despite
opening and closing with rounds of 6-under 65 at Glen Oaks Country
Club...Played his best golf from late March through early July when
he reeled off eight straight top-10 finishes and was 68-under par
during that stretch. |
| Career Highlights |
| 2000: Missed the first two months of the year following an off-season
rib-cage injury, but wound up fourth on the money list with $1,873,216
in just 23 events, the fewest he's played in one season...Earned his
first Byron Nelson Award with a scoring average of 68.83, the second
best mark in SENIOR TOUR history...Won three times and was among the
top-5 in 15 events. First win came in his first official 2000 appearance
near Pensacola, FL. Went wire-to-wire at the Emerald Coast Classic,
winning by four strokes over Larry Nelson. Second victory came in
late July when he came from behind at the The Instinet Classic in
Princeton, NJ. Set a tournament record of 17-under 199 and became
a multiple winner for a fourth straight year. Added his third title
at the rain-shortened Comfort Classic. Successfully defended his crown
when he birdied the final two holes on Saturday to overtake Jim Ahern.
Was declared the winner on Sunday when bad weather washed out the
final round at the Brickyard Crossing...Came close to victory in two
other events, falling in a one-hole playoff to John Jacobs at the
Bruno's Memorial Classic and losing a six-hole playoff to Larry Nelson
at the Vantage Championship...Also was second behind Hale Irwin at
the BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland in Nashville, carding a final-round
63, matching a career low...Set a new SENIOR TOUR standard when he
put together an amazing 31 straight sub-par rounds. Started the streak
at the FORD SENIOR PLAYERS Championship and saw it come to an end
after one round at the SBC Senior Classic. Held the previous record
of 26 consecutive in 1997. 1999: Played his best in the last half
of the campaign. After mid May was par/better in 47 of his 51 rounds
thru the Pacific Bell Senior Classic...Was the hottest player on the
SENIOR TOUR during September and was named Player of the Month. Ran
off 12 straight sub-par scores during that period and posted a pair
of victories. Carded a final-round 69 at the Comfort Classic in Indianapolis
and edged Ed Dougherty by two strokes. Came back two weeks later and
won the Kroger Senior Classic title, defeating Dougherty again thanks
to a final-round 63, his career-low round on the SENIOR TOUR (since
matched in 2000 and 2001)...Also won his second straight Senior Slam
in Los Cabos, Mexico, besting Hale Irwin by two strokes, and teamed
with Hubert Green for the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf crown at
the World Golf Village...Could not defend his Tradition title due
to back problems and was bothered by stiffness in his lower back at
various times during the season. 1998: Eclipsed the $2 million figure
for the second straight year ($87,162/start), had six official victories
for the second consecutive year, and was among the top three in 11
of 25 appearances...Won a pair of SENIOR TOUR major championships.
Successfully defended his Tradition title by coming from two strokes
back of Tom Wargo to win by two at Desert Mountain. Also defeated
Hale Irwin by three shots at the FORD SENIOR PLAYERS Championship
with a whopping 21-under-par 267 total, a 72-hole record at the TPC
of Michigan. Started the campaign with a victory at the MasterCard
Championship at Hualalai and came from five strokes back to win the
LG Championship in Naples three weeks later. Played all 54 holes without
a bogey at Park Meadows and cruised to a four-stroke victory at the
Utah Showdown. Final victory of the campaign came at the Vantage Championship.
Used a closing-round 65 to outduel Irwin down the stretch...Claimed
the unofficial Senior Slam at Los Cabos, defeating Hale Irwin by six
strokes. 1997: Voted by his peers as Rookie of the Year...Enjoyed
a banner season, becoming just the second SENIOR TOUR player at the
time to go over $2 million in yearly earnings ($86,422/start)...Held
off Irwin to win the season-ending Energizer SENIOR TOUR Championship,
his sixth SENIOR TOUR title in 1997. Made his first-ever successful
title defense the week before at the Ralphs Senior Classic. One-stroke
victory over George Archer at Wilshire Country Club gave him his fourth
TOUR win in the Los Angeles area. First claimed back-to-back tournaments
earlier in the year at the Ameritech Senior Open and BellSouth Senior
Classic at Opryland. Was the first of three wire-to-wire winners when
he nipped Irwin by one stroke at Kemper Lakes despite finishing bogey,
bogey, double bogey. Claimed a two-stroke win in Nashville over John
Bland the week after...Won his first senior major in early April at
The Tradition, finishing six in front of Isao Aoki with a 22-under
266 score. Bested Tom Shaw's old tournament record at the time by
three strokes...Season's other victory came in the rain at the First
of America Classic, where he birdied the 53rd hole to take a one-stroke
lead over Bob Duval, then clinched the title with a scrambling par
on the final hole...Broke Bob Murphy's all-time record at the time
of 24 consecutive sub-par rounds when he strung together 26 consecutive
from the last round of the U.S. Senior Open through the Vantage Championship
in early October. 1996: Earned his first SENIOR TOUR title just 11
days after turning 50 at the Ralphs Senior Classic...Victory in late
September made him the youngest winner in SENIOR TOUR history at the
time...Debuted on the SENIOR TOUR at the Vantage Championship with
a T16. |
| Personal |
| Started playing golf at age 15...Holds a Doctor of Optometry degree
and still keeps a current license, even though he has never practiced...Decided
during his junior year at East Central State (OK) to pursue a career
in golf, but waited until earning his optometry degree before turning
professional. |
| PGA TOUR Playoff Record |
| 3-4 |
| SENIOR TOUR Playoff Record |
| 0-4 |
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