Jed Morgan says “rubbing shoulders with big dogs” like his team captain Sergio Garcia was far more valuable than the $US154,000 ($A222,000) he won for playing in last week’s controversial LIV Golf Series opening event outside London.
Morgan, 22, was one of six Australians who teed up in the inaugural event of the new tour, which is financed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and whose chief executive is Australian golfing great Greg Norman.
Given Saudi Arabia’s record of human rights atrocities, the source of funding for the rebel golf circuit has thrown star recruits such as Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson under a barrage of criticism. Fans have questioned Johnson, Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau need to take the LIV cash when they were already among the highest earners in PGA Tour history.
For likeable Queenslander Morgan, LIV Golf offered an opportunity to not only compete for a share of a $US25 million ($A36 million) tournament purse, but to play in a team captained by 2017 Masters winner Garcia in the 54-hole event’s team format. The teams component ran concurrently to the individual strokeplay.
South African Charl Schwartzel won the $US4 million individual and teams titles, the latter adding $US750,000 to his record payday.
Morgan’s $A222,000 payday for finishing tied 30th was $A42,000 more than he received for winning the Australian PGA Championship at the beginning of 2022. Morgan’s countryman Travis Smyth won $US525,000 from the LIV Golf opener and another $US200,000 from the LIV Golf-funded Asian Tour event in London the week before.
But Morgan said they money wasn’t what he enjoyed most about LIV Golf.
“The more life-changing stuff for me was being able to play and rub shoulders with some big dogs like Sergio,” Morgan told Australian Golf Digest in Boston after a US practice round at The Country Club at Brookline. “The money was obviously amazing, but if you stick to what you’re doing as a pro golfer you’re going to make money anywhere in the world.”
While LIV defectors such as Johnson, Mickelson, DeChambeau and Patrick Reed are now banned from the PGA Tour, it was a free kick for pros in Morgan’s situation.
Morgan secured a DP World Tour (formerly European Tour) card by virtue of topping the Australasian tour’s order of merit last season. The DP World Tour has not revealed if it will punish its members for playing in the LIV Golf series and it appears unlikely.
That was why Morgan, whose first start as a DP World Tour member won’t come until the new season in October, intends to keep playing LIV Golf. The start-up tour has six more $US25 million events before its finale.
Another comforting factor was that Morgan’s exemption into the final stage of qualifying school for the Korn Ferry Tour (the PGA Tour’s feeder tour) won’t be affected by playing LIV Golf because he is not a member of any PGA Tour affiliated circuit.
“I had a few conversations with my manager and it was a no brainer (to play LIV Golf),” Morgan said. “It was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down to play these events against some of the best players in the world like ‘DJ’ and Phil. It’s my first year as a pro golfer, so I’m trying to expose myself to as many opportunities as possible.”
Now for the US Open.
Morgan will make his Major championship debut in America’s national championship before playing his second career Major at the Open Championship at St Andrews next month. Both Major starts were a bonus for winning the Australasian money-list.
Morgan said he felt sleeping on the 54-hole lead at the Australian PGA at Royal Queensland and going on to win had prepared him for the nerves of playing Major championship golf.
He played a practice round on Monday with world No.6 Cam Smith, with whom Morgan shares a swing coach, and 2013 Masters winner Adam Scott.
“It’s what you’ve always dreamed of as a kid,” Morgan said of the US Open. “I don’t know if I’ll ever have more pressure than the Australian PGA. I was throwing up with nerves and didn’t eat for two days. I was thrown in the deep end at the very beginning of my pro career and it proved I was good enough.”
Morgan is one of seven Australians at this week’s US Open at The Country Club outside Boston. He is joined by superstar Smith, Scott, Marc Leishman, Min Woo Lee, Lucas Herbert and Todd Sinnott.
