HE'S BEEN THROUGH THE WARS - LITERALLY; MORGAN SURVIVED TOURS IN VIETNAM.Byline: Eric Noland Daily News Staff Writer Walter Morgan Walter Morgan may be:
Morgan, who will compete in the U.S. Senior Open at Riviera Country Club The Riviera Country Club is a country club with a championship golf course. It is located in Pacific Palisades, California, within the city limits of Los Angeles, California. The country club opened in 1926, with George C. Thomas, Jr. as the course architect. , says he took up golf out of boredom while stationed in Hawaii with the Army in the 1960s. But play was suspended - and boredom abruptly ceased to be an issue - when he shipped out to Vietnam in '67 and again in '71. ``I was a combat soldier,'' says Morgan, 57, a sergeant who was a 20-year man in the Army. ``I was playing before I went to Vietnam, but when I was in Vietnam I didn't play no golf. You're not thinking about golf, you're thinking about survival.'' According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a copy of Morgan's service record, he was a team and squad leader Squad leader may mean
Squad Leader is a tactical level board wargame originally published by Avalon Hill in 1977. in the infantry, commanding 6 to 9 soldiers, while in Vietnam. In '67, he was assigned to the U.S. Army of the Pacific in Hawaii, but vanguards were commonly sent into Vietnam in advance of the full battalions, according to military officials. In '71, while with the 101st Airborne Division, his units (506th and 327th Infantry) were in combat zones in the northern provinces of South Vietnam South Vietnam: see Vietnam. - in the Hue-Phu Bai region north of Da Nang Da Nang (dənăng`, dän äng), formerly Tourane (t  răn`, –rän`), city (1990 est. pop. , and in the A Shau Valley The A Shau Valley is a valley in Vietnam. Located in Vietnam's Thua Thien province, the valley was the scene of heavy fighting in the late 1960s and early 1970s during the Vietnam War.The Battle of Hamburger Hill took place several kilometers to the West. . ``The first (tour) was the worst,'' Morgan said. ``The last part, it wasn't quite as bad, because it was kind of winding down. But it was still dangerous.'' A considerable understatement, says Robert Acklen, a former company commander with the 506th who today heads an alumni group for the unit. ``You were in danger all the time you were over there,'' said Acklen. ``The minute you set foot in Vietnam off the plane, you could be shot at or mortared or you could step on a mine 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the whole year you were there.'' Small wonder Morgan was so thrilled to get back to the states in early '72 and put down his M-16 for a 3-wood. Even today, the war is a subject that is carefully skirted by his acquaintances and even relatives - like cousin Joe "Cousin Joe" Pleasant (birth name: Pleasant Joseph) (born December 20,1907 died October 2,1989) was a blues and jazz singer, later famous for his 1940s recordings with clarinetist Sidney Bechet and saxophonist Mezz Mezzrow, who grew up in the fields of rural Louisiana. Morgan, the former baseball great. ``I don't discuss it with him,'' said Joe Morgan
``It explains to me why he won't be afraid (of the competition on the senior tour). Some things train you better for other things.'' Walter Morgan certainly wasn't of faint heart when he decided to attempt a professional golfing debut at the age of 50. He was retired from the military by then, working as a club pro in Texas and marking the calendar for the date of his eligibility. He knew he would be going up against guys who had years of experience with galleries, TV cameras and putts worth $20,000. He knew he would be the longest of shots. ``There were guys who said I couldn't make it,'' Morgan says. ``I proved them wrong. I'm laughing at them now.'' The senior tour is peppered with guys who share this laugh. They are late bloomers whose pro careers kicked into gear at 50. Jay Sigel Robert Jay Sigel (born November 13, 1943) is an American professional golfer. He enjoyed one of the more illustrious careers in the history of U.S. Amateur golf before turning pro in 1994 when he became a member of the Champions Tour. had a solid amateur career but, like Morgan, never made a dime in a PGA (1) (Professional Graphics Adapter) An early IBM PC display standard for 3D processing with 640x480x256 resolution. It was not widely used. (2) (Programmable Gate Array) See gate array and FPGA. event; he was fourth on the money list last year. Jim Albus James Christian Albus (born June 18, 1940) is an American golfer. Albus was born in Staten Island, New York. He attended Bucknell University, where he was a successful baseball player. and Tom Wargo Amos Tom Wargo (born September 16, 1942) is an American professional golfer, best known for winning the 1993 PGA Seniors' Championship–one of the major championships on the men's Senior PGA Tour. are two former club pros who have achieved prominence on the senior tour. It has also proven to be a lure for foreign players who once labored on the tours of Asia and Europe. John Bland John Bland (born 22 September 1945) is a South African golfer who has won more than thirty professional tournaments around the world. Bland was born in Johannesburg. He turned professional in 1969. He was a leading player on the Southern African Tour for over twenty years. , Jose Maria Canizares and even the U.S. Senior Open's defending champion defending champion n (SPORT) → defensor/a m/f del título defending champion n (Sport) → champion(ne) en titre , Graham Marsh Graham Vivian Marsh (born 14 January 1944) was one of the leading Australian golfers of his generation. He was born in Kalgoorlie, Australia. He attended the University of Western Australia and Claremont Teachers College before turning professional in 1969. of Australia, were attracted by the prospect of competitive opportunities in their graying years. ``Now,'' said Marsh, ``players in their 40s have the senior tour to look forward to, a reason to keep their game sharp. . . . This is our last chance to compete, and we know it.'' Morgan knew it, too, he just took a more unorthodox route. Once he returned from Vietnam, he really found his niche. At the top of his list of decorations is an Army commendation medal For other medals of the same name, see . The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military award which is presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. with an oak-leaf cluster. How did he earn that one? Playing golf. ``I really had it good during peacetime,'' Morgan said. ``I represented the division in golf. In Hawaii, public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most was a big thing with the people (politicians) downtown, and they were all golfers, so I represented the division.'' Morgan went on to represent the Army in inter-service tournaments - and won - conducted golf clinics for high school kids and used the sport as a recruitment avenue. After retiring in 1980, he took a stab at the PGA Tour but missed the cut at the qualifying school by one stroke. He says a cold reality struck him then: Morgan was 39 years old, beating his brains out against college-age kids. One of the survivors of that Q school, in fact, was Fred Couples, then 21. Morgan decided to bide bide v. bid·ed or bode , bid·ed, bid·ing, bides v.intr. 1. To remain in a condition or state. 2. a. To wait; tarry. b. his time and wait for the senior tour. He hooked on immediately as a qualifier, but didn't really hit stride until '95, when he cracked the top 30 on the money list. He was 18th last year, and has three career victories. Now Morgan, who personifies the late bloomer on the senior tour, lives out the fantasy of the weekend hacker. Every 50ish soul who puts together the occasional solid round wonders if he's got what it takes to do this for a living. One of them, Joe Morgan, chuckles at the thought. ``I think I'm a pretty good golfer, but one of the things I've found out is when you get out there with those guys, you realize how good they are,'' he said. ``Johnny Bench wanted to qualify for the tour. Mike Schmidt. They get out there and realize there is a lot of pressure. That 2-foot putt is not easy.'' Walter Morgan acknowledges this. He said his transition was eased some by having played well against tour veteran Orville Moody, another former Army man, while a club pro. Also, Charlie Sifford, a golfing pioneer among African-Americans, phoned when Morgan qualified and offered to travel with him and show him the ropes of the senior tour - an offer this sarge enthusiastically accepted. The intensity of the competition was jolting, but Morgan shrugged in the face of it. ``There is pressure,'' he said, ``but, hey, everybody is going to miss 2- or 3-footers. That's golf. You're going to have a little nervous in you, but it's not like anybody's holding a gun on you or shooting at you like when I was in combat. ``There's no comparison to the pressure there, when you don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. whether you're going to live or die. ``You've just got to have confidence in what you're doing.'' And profound gratitude that you survived to do it. WALTER MORGAN Age: 57. Years on tour: 8. Hometown: Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. This year: Has six top-10 finishes, including tied for third at the St. Luke's Classic. He is 28th on the money list with $395,826 in 21 events. Last year: Ranked 18th with $667,676. Notable: Cousin of former baseball star Joe Morgan didn't take up golf until age 25, after his second tour of duty in Vietnam, shooting 79 in his first round and winning the All-Service championship in 1975 and '76. SENIOR PGA TOUR MONEY LEADERS Through the Ameritech Open, which ended July 19: Name Earnings 1. Hale Irwin $1,735,250 2. Gil Morgan $1,325,793 3. Larry Nelson $1,087,753 4. Jay Sigel $733,260 5. Dave Stockton $703,453 6. Jose Maria Canizares $635,074 7. Bruce Summerhays $594,526 8. Jim Colbert $583,075 9. Vicente Fernandez $573,297 10. David Graham $561,148 11. John Jacobs $556,567 12. Isao Aoki $543,854 13. Mike McCullough $513,750 14. Dana Quigley $503,954 15. Bob Duval $477,487 16. Ray Floyd $471,692 17. Hugh Baiocchi $467,516 18. Hubert Green $465,662 19. Jim Albus $432,200 20. Leonard Thompson $423,288 21. Graham Marsh $422,551 22. J.C. Snead $415,068 23. Bob Dickson $412,541 24. Dale Douglass $410,366 25. Lee Trevino $409,050 26. Tom Wargo $407,677 27. Jim Dent $399,877 28. Walter Morgan $395,826 29. Bob Murphy $394,659 30. Terry Dill $381,417 31. Dave Eichelberger $319,470 32. George Archer $308,326 33. Bob Eastwood $300,944 34. Brian Barnes $298,400 35. Walter Hall $297,711 36. John Bland $291,886 37. Frank Conner $265,768 38. Simon Hobday $250,119 39. Gibby Gilbert $244,102 40. Bob Charles $239,553 CAPTION(S): 2 Photos, 4 Boxes Photo: (1) Walter Morgan, who won the 1996 FHP fhp or f.hp. abbr. friction horsepower Healthcare Classic, honed his game representing the Army in golf tournaments during peacetime. Daily News File Photo (2) WALTER MORGAN Box: (1) WALTER MORGAN (See Text) (2) SENIOR OPEN WINNERS (3) SENIOR PGA TOUR MONEY LEADERS (See Text) (4) THURSDAY, FRIDAY TEE TIMES |
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