Introduction
John Paul Morse (born February 16, 1958) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the Champions Tour.
Amateur career
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
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 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. 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. The win helped Morse move up to a world ranking high of #67 by the beginning of the next year.
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.
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. The following year he recorded his best finish at a major championship: solo 4th at the 1996 U.S. Open. In addition Morse picked up a runner-up finish at the 1995 Buick Challenge.
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 (2)
- 1978 Michigan Amateur
- 1980 Big 10 Championship (individual medalist)
Professional wins (6)
PGA Tour wins (1)
| 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 | Tom Lehman, Duffy Waldorf |
PGA Tour of Australasia wins (3)
| Legend |
| Australian Opens (1) |
| Other PGA Tour of Australasia (2) |
| 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 | Ray Picker, Terry Price |
| 2 | Dec 2, 1990 | Australian Open | −5 (72-70-73-68=283) | Playoff | Craig Parry |
| 3 | Nov 10, 1991 | Air New Zealand Shell Open | −7 (67-67-66-73=273) | 3 strokes | Nandasena Perera |
PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1990 | Australian Open | Craig Parry | Won with par on first extra hole |
Nike Tour wins (1)
| 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 | Emlyn Aubrey, Pete Jordan, Sam Randolph, Larry Silveira |
Canadian Tour wins (1)
- 1989 Quebec Open
Results in major championships
| 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 |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied