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Gil Morgan  |
EXEMPT STATUS: Top 31 on 2002 Champions Tour Money List FULL NAME: Gil Morgan 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 |
| 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. |
| Champions Tour Victories |
| (21) 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. 2002 BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland. |
| 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 Oklahoma Open. 1997 Oklahoma Open. |
| Current Year Charles Schwab Cup Points and Positions |
| 891 (5) |
| Current Year Champions Tour Money and Positions |
| $657,037 (10) |
| Current Year Best Champions Tour Finishes |
| 2--SBC Classic, T2--Royal Caribbean Golf Classic, T4--ACE Group Classic, T6--Toshiba Senior Classic, T7--Verizon Classic, Senior PGA Championship, 9--Emerald Coast Classic |
| Current Year Champions Tour Best Round |
| 63 at Round 1, Emerald Coast Classic |
| Current Year Champions Tour Highlights |
| Was the 36-hole leader at the Royal Caribbean Golf Classic and led by one stroke with one hole to play before losing to Dave Barr. Missed a seven-foot par putt on the final hole after an errant drive cost him a penalty stroke...Came close again at the SBC Classic. Was a victim of a three-shot turnaround at the final hole at Valencia CC. Three-putted the 18th hole after Tom Purtzer holed a 58-foot eagle putt...Finished T4 at The ACE Group Classic and T7 at the Verizon Classic during the early Florida swing...Was T6 at the Toshiba Senior Classic and T7 at the Senior PGA Championship, where he also shared the halfway lead with Allen Doyle.. |
| Best PGA TOUR Finishes |
| 1--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. |
| Best Champions Tour Finishes |
| 1--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. 2002 BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland. |
| Best 2002 Champions Tour Finishes |
| 1--BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland, 2--SENIOR TOUR Championship at Gaillardia, T2--SAS Championship, T3--SBC Senior Classic, 5--SBC Championship, T6--Senior PGA Championship, T7--Toshiba Senior Classic, Allianz Championship, T8--Lightpath Long Island Classic, Kroger Senior Classic, T10--Uniting Fore Care Classic Presented by Novell |
| 2002 Season Champions Tour |
| Tournaments Entered--24; in money--23; Top 10 finishes--11 |
| 2002 Season Highlights |
| Extended his streak of winning at least one Champions Tour title in seven straight years and eclipsed the seven-figure mark in single-season earnings for a sixth straight year...Moved into seventh place on the all-time victory list when he registered his 21st career title on the Champions Tour at the BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland. Emerged from a pack of players with birdies on two of the last three holes for an eventual three-stroke triumph over Mike McCullough, Bruce Fleisher and Dana Quigley. Win was his second at Springhouse Golf Club and gave him six top-five performances in six trips to Nashville. The victory marked the second year in succession he had won on Father's Day...Finished T2 at the SAS Championship, four strokes behind Bruce Lietzke, but $124,666 paycheck put him over the $1 million mark for the sixth straight season...Also finished the season as the runner-up to Tom Watson in the SENIOR TOUR Championship at Gaillardia. Dueled Watson head-to-head down the stretch, but eventually came up two strokes short after an errant drive on No. 16 led to a bogey...Made the first ace of his Champions Tour career (10th overall) when he holed a 6-iron shot from 165 yards on Firestone's 12th hole during the second round of the Senior PGA Championship...Finished the year with a streak of 20 straight par/better rounds. |
| Career Highlights |
| 2001: Earned his second consecutive Byron Nelson Trophy for best scoring average (69.20)...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. 9-under 63 in the opening round at the TPC at Jasna Polana was a course record and included both a double-eagle (No. 7-driver/3-iron) and eagle, a first on the Champions Tour since 1996. 2000: Missed the first two months of the year following an off-season rib-cage injury...Earned his first Byron Nelson Award with a scoring average of 68.83, the second best mark in Champions Tour history...First of three victories 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...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 Brickyard Crossing...Set a Champions 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 of the SBC Senior Classic in Los Angeles. Had established the previous record of 26 consecutive in 1997. 1999: 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...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. 1998: Had six official victories that included a pair of Champions Tour majors...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...Played all 54 holes without a bogey at Park Meadows and cruised to a four-stroke victory at the Utah Showdown...Final win 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 Champions 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...Made his first-ever successful title defense the week before at the Ralphs Senior Classic. One-stroke victory over George Archer at Wilshire CC 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 over John Bland at the BellSouth Senior Classic the week after...Won his first senior major in early April at The Tradition, finishing six strokes in front of Isao Aoki with a 22-under 266 score, the 72-hole tournament record at the time. 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 at No. 18...Broke Bob Murphy's all-time record of 24 consecutive sub-par rounds when he strung together 26 straight. 1996: Earned his first Champions Tour title just 11 days after turning 50 at the Ralphs Senior Classic and became the youngest Champions Tour winner at the time...Debuted at the Vantage Championship (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 |
| Champions Tour Playoff Record |
| 0-4 |