Gil Morgan

Gil Morgan

Personal information
Full name	Gilmer Bryan Morgan II, OD
Nickname	Doc
Born	(1946-09-25) September 25, 1946 Wewoka, Oklahoma
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight	170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
Nationality	United States
Residence	Edmond, Oklahoma
Career
College	East Central State College Southern College of Optometry
Turned professional	1972
Current tour(s)	Champions Tour
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour
Professional wins	40
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	7
Japan Golf Tour	1
PGA Tour Champions	25 (3rd all time)
Other	8
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament	T3: 1984
U.S. Open	3rd: 1983
The Open Championship	T10: 1980
PGA Championship	3rd/T3: 1980, 1990
Achievements and awards
Byron Nelson Award (Champions Tour)	2000, 2001
Champions Tour Rookie of the Year	1997

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

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

Morgan was known for playing tournaments with little or no practice. He was exceptional at "playing cold".

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 ever 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^[1] 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 (40)

PGA Tour wins (7)

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	Lee Elder
2	Feb 19, 1978	Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open	−6 (66-69-73-70=278)	2 strokes	Jack Nicklaus
3	Oct 1, 1978	World Series of Golf	−2 (71-72-67-68=278)	Playoff	Hubert Green
4	Jul 1, 1979	Danny Thomas Memphis Classic	−10 (72-71-69-66=278)	Playoff	Larry Nelson
5	Jan 9, 1983	Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open	−9 (65-71-68-67=271)	Playoff	Curtis Strange, Lanny Wadkins
6	Jan 16, 1983	Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open	−14 (71-68-63-68=270)	2 strokes	Lanny Wadkins
7	Jun 3, 1990	Kemper Open	−10 (68-67-70-69=274)	1 stroke	Ian Baker-Finch

PGA Tour playoff record (3–4)

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

Other wins (4)

1978 Taiheiyo Masters (Japan Golf Tour)
1981 Oklahoma Open
1983 Jerry Ford Invitational (tie with Don Pooley)
1997 Oklahoma Open

Champions Tour wins (25)

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	Jim Colbert, Chi-Chi Rodríguez
2	Apr 6, 1997	The Tradition	−22 (66-66-67-67=266)	6 strokes	Isao Aoki
3	Jun 1, 1997	Ameritech Senior Open	−6 (67-69-74=210)	1 stroke	Hale Irwin
4	Jun 8, 1997	BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland	−14 (69-66-67=202)	2 strokes	John Bland
5	Aug 17, 1997	First of America Classic	−9 (69-67-71=207)	1 stroke	Bob Duval
6	Nov 2, 1997	Ralphs Senior Classic	−15 (67-66-65=198)	1 stroke	George Archer
7	Nov 9, 1997	Energizer Senior Tour Championship	−16 (69-66-66-71=272)	2 strokes	Hale Irwin
8	Jan 18, 1998	MasterCard Championship	−21 (65-66-64=195)	6 strokes	Gibby Gilbert, Hale Irwin
9	Feb 8, 1998	LG Championship	−6 (69-73-68=210)	2 strokes	Dale Douglass, Raymond Floyd
10	Apr 5, 1998	The Tradition	−12 (71-66-69-70=276)	2 strokes	Tom Wargo
11	Jul 12, 1998	Ford Senior Players Championship	−21 (69-64-68-66=267)	3 strokes	Hale Irwin
12	Aug 2, 1998	Utah Showdown	−16 (66-67-67=200)	4 strokes	Isao Aoki, John Mahaffey
13	Oct 4, 1998	Vantage Championship	−12 (66-67-65=198)	1 stroke	Hale Irwin
14	Sep 12, 1999	Comfort Classic	−15 (67-65-69=201)	2 strokes	Ed Dougherty
15	Sep 26, 1999	Kroger Senior Classic	−18 (67-68-63=198)	2 strokes	Ed Dougherty
16	Mar 26, 2000	Emerald Coast Classic	−13 (65-65-67=197)	4 strokes	Larry Nelson
17	Jul 23, 2000	The Instinet Classic	−17 (67-66-66=199)	4 strokes	Bruce Fleisher, Bob Murphy
18	Sep 10, 2000	Comfort Classic	−13 (64-67=131)	1 stroke	Jim Ahern
19	Feb 11, 2001	ACE Group Classic	−12 (71-67-66=204)	2 strokes	Dana Quigley
20	Jun 17, 2001	The Instinet Classic	−15 (63-69-69=201)	2 strokes	Tom Jenkins, J. C. Snead
21	Jun 16, 2002	BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland	−14 (67-68-67=202)	3 strokes	Bruce Fleisher, Mike McCullough, Dana Quigley
22	Sep 7, 2003	Kroger Classic	−16 (65-67-68=200)	2 strokes	Doug Tewell
23	Mar 14, 2004	SBC Classic	−14 (67-66-69=202)	2 strokes	Larry Nelson
24	Jun 4, 2006	Allianz Championship	−16 (66-64-67=197)	1 stroke	Loren Roberts
25	Sep 2, 2007	Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach	−14 (70-65-67=202)	2 strokes	Hale Irwin

Champions Tour playoff record (0–6)

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

Senior majors are shown in bold.

Other senior wins (4)

1997 Diners Club Matches (with Jay Sigel)
1998 Senior Slam at Los Cabos,
1999 Senior Slam at Los Cabos, Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Hubert Green)

Playoff record

European Tour playoff record (0–1)

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

Results in major championships

Tournament	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	CUT	T18	T31
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	T41	CUT	CUT
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	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	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	T16	CUT	T22	3	T21	T23	DNP	T51	CUT	WD
The Open Championship	T10	DNP	CUT	DNP	T22	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	T3	T19	T22	T55	CUT	T28	CUT	T21	CUT	CUT

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996
Masters Tournament	DNP	CUT	DNP	T50	CUT	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	T56	CUT	T13	CUT	CUT	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	T64	DNP	T14	CUT	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	3	T16	T21	CUT	T39	T31	T41

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = Withdrew
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.

Summary

Tournament	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	1	1	2	5	12	7
U.S. Open	1	1	1	6	17	9
The Open Championship	0	0	1	3	7	4
PGA Championship	2	3	4	11	22	17
Totals	4	5	8	25	58	37

Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (1982 PGA – 1984 Open Championship)
Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (twice)

Champions Tour major championships

Wins (3)

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

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

Ryder Cup: 1979 (winners), 1983 (winners)
Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (representing Senior PGA Tour): 1998 (winners)

References

↑ GOLF; An Ocean of Contenders After Morgan's Cliff Dive

External links

Gil Morgan at the PGA Tour official site
Gil Morgan at the Japan Golf Tour official site

Gil Morgan in the senior major championships

The Tradition champions

1989 Don Bies
1990 Jack Nicklaus
1991 Jack Nicklaus
1992 Lee Trevino
1993 Tom Shaw
1994 Raymond Floyd†
1995 Jack Nicklaus†
1996 Jack Nicklaus
1997 Gil Morgan
1998 Gil Morgan
1999 Graham Marsh
2000 Tom Kite†
2001 Doug Tewell
2002 Jim Thorpe†
2003 Tom Watson
2004 Craig Stadler
2005 Loren Roberts†
2006 Eduardo Romero†
2007 Mark McNulty
2008 Fred Funk
2009 Mike Reid†
2010 Fred Funk
2011 Tom Lehman†
2012 Tom Lehman
2013 David Frost
2014 Kenny Perry
2015 Jeff Maggert†
2016 Bernhard Langer
2017 Bernhard Langer

† indicates the event was won in a playoff

Senior Players Championship champions