Next time you're feeling down about

your golf, just think about John E

Morgan and what he's come through

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Some people seem to think golfers can be a fairly bland bunch – but they obviously haven’t met John E Morgan. This man has a story to tell.
If awards were handed out for courage in the face of adversity, Morgan’s trophy cabinet would be bulging at the seams.
Larger than life in every way, the 31 year old is one of the most genial guys you could wish to meet, whether on or off the golf course.
But if a laid-back demeanour helps to maintain his reputation as the joker of the pack – a portrayal he revels in – it is worth noting Morgan also happens to be a seriously talented golfer.
For evidence, we need look no further than a quite stunning round of 61 on the third day of the 2008 Apulia San Domenico Grand Final, a tournament in which he had to finish third or better in order to muscle his way into the top 20 of the final Challenge Tour Rankings.
As it was, a tie for second place was good enough to catapult the man from the West Country to 17th in the Rankings.
That secured him a second tilt at The European Tour, a stage he last graced in 2003 – the same year he secured playing privileges on the other side of the Atlantic, having come through the US PGA Qualifying School.
In 2004 he came close to securing his maiden victory as a professional when losing out in a play-off at the John Deere Classic, where his natural aggression was to cost him the title, as he found water with his tee shot on the second extra hole.
But any sense of lingering disappointment he may have felt paled into insignificance compared with the pain – both physical and mental – he was to experience the following month.
After boarding a flight for the Reno-Tahoe Open, Morgan – who was diagnosed with epilepsy as a child – suffered a seizure so violent he snapped his seatbelt and broke several ribs.
Dallas Airport was closed down as the stricken passenger was stretchered off the plane and taken to hospital, where he eventually awoke in excruciating pain, having separated his ribs and seriously damaged the muscle around the sternum.
“After that, I said to myself I’d have to carry on playing to be in with a chance of keeping my card,” he said. “But whilst my brain was telling me I was still ok to play golf, my body was telling me to stop.”
Golf understandably took a back seat whilst Morgan recovered from both the pain and the shock, and it was not until 2006 that he felt well enough to attempt to rebuild his golfing career – and in many ways his life – on the Challenge Tour.
After losing his playing privileges, Morgan was now reliant on sponsors’ invitations to compete. And, despite some initial rustiness, he played well enough in three of the five events he entered to secure further opportunities for the following year.
Having finished in 65th place in the 2007 Rankings Morgan subsequently earned full playing privileges for the 2008 season, and put them to maximum use – though his year was still not without its fair share of trauma.
He explained: “I’m still going to have my funny turns now and again – I can only hope they don’t happen when I’m out on the golf course. If and when they do come, I just pray that I’ve got people around me who know how to deal with the situation, to make sure I don’t do anything stupid. At the Challenge of Ireland this year I was given a two-shot penalty after picking the ball up out of the rough. And I don’t even remember doing it! Then at the Piemonte Open in Italy, I had a turn on the practice range and ended up missing my tee time.
“Apparently, [Challenge Tour Member] Andrew Willey told me I took all my clubs out of my bag, took my shoes and socks off, and just lay down on the soaking wet grass. Eventually I came round, made it to the tee, and shot two under for the first five holes – but I can’t remember a single shot!

"That’s probably the most frustrating thing, the memory loss. Because every time I arrive at a course, it feels like I’m playing it for the first time. But most of the guys on the Challenge Tour already knew about my condition, which made it easier and meant I felt more comfortable.”
With his Race to Dubai now underway – he collected €12,720 for finishing in a tie for 16th in the recent Alfred Dunhill Championship – Morgan will be grateful merely to reach the finishing line without suffering any medical mishaps along the way.
But whatever brickbats life throws at Morgan, who also suffers from dyslexia, it seems his sunny disposition will never fade.
He said: “Sometimes I wonder what might have been if I’d never had the epilepsy, but you can’t live your life like that – I’d end up in floods of tears every day! Sometimes I get down about it, but what can you do?

"It’s just something I have to deal with every day of my life. When it does happen at awkward times, I do get annoyed and think: why couldn’t you have just waited until after I’ve finished my round? But you can’t pick and choose.
“I’d like to think I’ll get back to where I was before the accident, and have my moment in the sun again. I don’t know how long the body will last, but I think I’ve definitely still got some game left in me. I might surprise one or two people, who had maybe written me off.

"If a few putts go my way and I have a bit of luck, I might be there or thereabouts in one or two tournaments this season. But if I can’t get back to the same level and I’m scratching around every week, I’ll probably go off and so something else and just be grateful for the life that golf gave me.”