Mentored by Ricky Ponting, compared to Greg Norman: Tyro Jed Morgan wins Australian PGA Championship

Matt CooperMatt Cooper16 January 2022
Jed Morgan wins the 2021 Australian PGA Championship

Jed Morgan wins the 2021 Australian PGA Championship

The 23-year-old wowed the galleries at Royal Queensland in a stunning performance.

There are breakthroughs, there are stunning breakthroughs and there is what Jed Morgan achieved in winning the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland GC this week.
The 22-year-old turned pro in October last year, he was playing in just his fourth start since then, he had failed to make progress at Qualifying Schools in the States late last year, and yet he claimed the win by the massive margin of 11 shots.
In one fell swoop, he has announced himself to the wider world and also wowed Australian golf.
In carding rounds of 65-63-65-69 to total 22-under-par 262, 11 blows clear of two-time European Tour winner Andrew Dodt, the record books were rewritten.
He bettered the tournament's previous biggest winning margin, held by Greg Norman and Hale Irwin, and his total was a new record to both par and number of strokes.
In addition to the $180,000 first prize, the win earns him three starts on the DP World Tour and more or less guarantees him graduation to that circuit (via the top three spots available on the Australasian Tour).
Aside from the stunning golf, what stood out was his style. Not waiting for the galleries to react to his brilliance, he was roaring his own approval and adding the likes of "Let's go!" and "Yeah baby!" as the putts dropped.
Shortly after leaving the amateur game he had revealed his aim was to start the journey to the PGA Tour via the Latino American Tour (effectively the third tier), but he struggled at Q School.
Given those problems he admitted that expectations had been low at the start of the week, despite a few advantages.
"I just wanted to just make the cut this week," he said. "I know that's a low shot to (aim at), but I felt a lot of pressure, especially being a member here and having won the Australian Amateur Championship here.
"I'm just glad it's over. I've never felt pressure like the way I felt this week."
"The best thing I've done this week is be myself for the first time in a long time on the golf course.
"I was just glad it was at home and that I was able to do it in a manner that was pretty exciting for other people hopefully as well.
"I can't wait to do it many more times."
His on-course personality was compared by some to Aussie tennis player Lleyton Hewitt, but his actual inspiration are the cricket legend Ricky Ponting and baseball star Graeme Lloyd, who both mentored Morgan after he won a Sport Australia Hall of Fame scholarship.
"I don't know if I take too many words or phrases from people, but I just look at how they act," he said.
"They're just both aggressive people, especially when they're competing, and that's how you've got to be."

His career has been further aided by being part of the Cameron Smith Scholarship and, as often happens, one Aussie golf win prompts more.

Talking of last week's Sentry Tournament of Champions winner Smith, Morgan said: "As I've gotten to know him a little bit more, he continues just to get better with his view on things.

"He's really good at advice. He's pretty smart in terms of how he works.
"He doesn't exert really much energy elsewhere apart from where it's important, which is probably the biggest thing I've taken from him."
Among those impressed by Morgan's win was Geoff Ogilvy who was moved to make a sweeping comparison between the young tyro and an Australian golfing great.
"My parents have been dining out forever that they saw Greg win the West Lakes Classic in 1976," Ogilvy said.
"Nobody knew who he was, and he turned up, he won, and the rest is history.
"That goes here. Jed might be Greg Norman."
He added: "He hits it miles, got a great head on his shoulders, really good kid, got the complete game."

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