The Morgans lined up alongside Zimbabwean brothers Scott and Kieran Vincent, and the Mexican siblings Carlos and Alvaro Ortiz, in a star-studded field that also included 2010 US Open champion Graeme McDowell, 2011 Masters winner Charl Schwartzel, plus Spanish rising star David Puig, American sensation Andy Ogletree and top talent from all over the world battling it out for this year’s International Series Order of Merit
Elder brother Jediah, 23, is one of several LIV Golf stars appearing regularly on The International Series schedule, with a T55 in England the best finish in four appearances for the Ripper GC star who has competed on the events as a regular tune-up to complement the 14-date LIV Golf League schedule.
Three years his junior, younger brother and 2023 Singapore Amateur champion Lincoln was also in the field this week, getting his first taste of action in a professional event.
Morgan junior, crowned Singapore Amateur Champion at Orchid Country Club earlier this year, was not overawed by the experience, although a respectable one-over 73 and three-over 74 left him on the wrong side of the one-under cut line after two rounds on the testing Tampines Course.
He said: “I’m playing with good golfers, when you see the names such as Charl, Graeme, Carlos Ortiz, Andy Ogletree and my brother, it was pretty cool for my first pro event to be honest!
“I thought I would be a bit more nervous than I was, but it was too early to think too much about it,” he joked. “It is strange, I didn’t feel out of place, but I didn’t exactly feel comfortable. But once the round got going, I started to feel more comfortable and finished quite well in the end.”
So, did Lincoln seek out older brother Jediah for some sage advice ahead of his big day?
“I didn’t really ask him anything this week, I felt like I should steer clear of him and let him do his own thing and I can do mine. We can have our own preparation before events,” added the 20-year-old who is hoping to be in place for a crack at Q-school – potentially in the Asian Tour – in ‘a year or maybe two’.
Big brother Jed confirmed the distanced approach.
“I think he watches what I do more than anything,” he laughed. “He’s a bit younger than I am and we are a bit different, but he’s seen it all before at LIV events and he has been fortunate enough to see what all the top guys do to prepare, so I don’t think he needs to learn too much from me! We are different – he needs to do what he needs to do.”
Morgan Senior has shown glimpses of his undoubted talent in patches at LIV, playing in the Ripper GC team alongside the 2022 Champion Golfer of the Year Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman and Matt Jones.
Some strong performances – including a five-under 66 on day one last time out at LIV Golf Chicago and a T16 finish at Sentosa in LIV Golf Singapore – have proved to be important contributions, helping the all-Australian team to fourth in the LIV Golf League’s first season standings.
Morgan had been hoping to use the International Series Singapore as important preparation for a huge week at the season-ending LIV Golf Jeddah next week, where he is fighting for his card ahead of next season because of his current status in the lower reaches of the individual standings.
But his one-over first round and level par second – which included a costly triple bogey on two, left the 2022 Australian PGA Championship winner one over and out of the weekend’s action. Despite that disappointment, he declared himself satisfied with important aspects of his game.
Morgan, who carded five birdies over the two rounds, said: “I felt good out there, my swing felt nice. It’s just my putter that needs to get hot. There’s a couple of tricky pins out there so you need to hole some putts you don’t usually hole.
“The course set up, it was tough. That’s why it is good to play these elevated tournaments – they are good and highly competitive. I enjoy playing these as well as LIV events, and the goal is to play plenty of International Series events ahead of League fixtures.”
For more information about International Series, please follow the link here to the Asian Tour website.
