By Scott Beder
The News-Star
MONROE — Alan Morgan didn’t just win the Louisiana Golf Association’s State Amateur tournament, he made a statement.
Morgan put on a display never seen in 81 previous state amateurs. The All-American from LSU dismembered the Bayou DeSiard Country Club course — and the tournament field — with a record-setting 21-under par.
Morgan finished off his masterpiece with a final round 5-under par 67 Sunday to win the tournament by an eye-popping 13 strokes over Billy Dressler.
How good was Morgan? The previous record for the 72-hole LGA State Amateur was 10-under par. That feat was accomplished by Tommy Moore in 1984 at Bayou DeSiard and Scott Haynie in 1993 at Southern Trace in Shreveport.
“To be honest with you, I really wanted to get to 20-under today,” the Lake Charles native said. “I just stuck to my game plan.”
It would have been easy for Morgan to put his game on cruise control for the final round. The former LGA Junior champion entered Sunday at 16-under and held an eight-stroke lead over good friend and LSU teammate Dressler, also from Lake Charles.
Instead, Morgan went for the kill. He made the turn at 4-under par to get to 20-under. By then it was apparent the tournament was his.
“He played well,” Dressler said. “I’m happy for him. I’m glad he ran away with it.”
On the back nine Morgan started to get a little conservative, hitting iron off No. 10, which led to his first bogey of the day. He seemed to be treading water after a bogey on 13 dropped him to 19-under.
After 13, Morgan snapped out of his brief malaise and decided to once again attack the golf course.
“I started to get away from my game plan, but I said, ‘No, I’ve got to get to 20-under,’ ” Morgan said. “After the bogey on 13, I said, ‘I’ve got to make some birdies coming in.’ I don’t want to come in struggling.”
Morgan rectified the situation with birdies on Nos. 15, 16 and 17. No two holes better exemplified his attack mode than Nos. 16 and 17.
On the par-5 16th, Morgan’s tee shot drifted into trouble on the right side. The conservative approach would have been to hit a layup shot to the middle of the fairway, leaving a wedge to the green. Instead, Morgan pulled out a 3-wood, slicing a shot 257 yards around trees and over bunkers, landing on the front of the green and rolling to the back of the green 40 feet from the hole .
“He was going for it,” said Dressler, who shot a final-round 72 to finish second at 8-under par. “He didn’t back off. Of course, he had a lot of room to do that.”
On the par-3 17th, Morgan could have easily played for the middle of the green, but instead went after the pin, which was located on the back of the green. He knocked it stiff, three feet from the hole.
The win was Morgan’s third of the year. He won two tournaments last fall at LSU to go along with three second-place finishes.
The victory will also have a special place in the hearts of the Morgan family for other reasons. Last year Alan’s mother Teresa passed away just 10 days before the state amateur. Understandably, he struggled, barely making the cut before finishing 12th.
As Morgan lined up what would be a birdie putt to drop him to 22-under on 17, his father Bobby looked skyward and said, “She’s watching him.”
“For me this is the biggest thrill,” Bobby Morgan said. “I didn’t see his 65 on Thursday, but I watched Friday, Saturday and Sunday and that’s the best three rounds I’ve seen him play.”
A few weeks ago, Alan Morgan’s grandmother, June Parks, passed away just before the NCAA Regionals.
“She always used to carry a $2 bill around with her,” Morgan said. “My aunt gave it to me before the tournament and I carried it in my wallet all week.”