John Paul Morse (born February 16, 1958) is an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who currently plays on the

Champions Tour PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many years ...

Amateur career

Morse was born in

Marshall, Michigan Marshall is a U.S. city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Calhoun County. The population was 7,088 at the 2010 census. Marshall is best known for its cross-section of 19th- and early 20th-century architecture. It has been referred to by t ...

. He attended the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

and was an All-American member of the

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

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 Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

and eventually the Florida Tour. Morse first made a name for himself on the

Australasian Tour The PGA Tour of Australasia, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia, is a professional golf tour for men, owned and operated by the PGA of Australia. Official events on the tour count for World Golf Ra ...

. One of Morse's finest performances on the Australasian Tour came in a runner-up performance in 1990. At that year's

Australian Masters The Australian Masters was an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia held in Victoria, Australia from 1979 to 2015. History In 1989 the International Management Group took control of the management of the tournament. Though the ...

, Morse finished only two shots back from world number one

Greg Norman Gregory John Norman AO (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian entrepreneur and retired professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 89 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA Tour tournament ...

while tying world number two

Nick Faldo Sir Nicholas Alexander Faldo, (born 18 July 1957) is an English retired professional golfer and television commentator. A top player of his era, renowned for his dedication to the game, he was ranked No. 1 on the Official World Golf Ranking for ...

. 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 Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...

. 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 Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

and played very well, ultimately winning the 1993 Nike New England Classic. He earned his

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

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 The Sony Open in Hawaii is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, and is part of the tour's FedEx Cup Series. It has been contested at the Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii, since the event's modern-day inception as the Hawaiian O ...

. 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. 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

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

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

Professional wins (6)

PGA Tour wins (1)

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (3)

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (1–0)

Nike Tour wins (1)

Canadian Tour wins (1)

Results in major championships

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

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morse, John American male golfers Michigan Wolverines men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Korn Ferry Tour graduates Golfers from Michigan Sportspeople from Battle Creek, Michigan 1958 births Living people