Mike Morley (born June 17, 1946) is an American

golf course architect A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

and a former

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who played on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

for 14 years.

Early life

Born in

Morris, Minnesota Morris is a city in and the county seat of Stevens County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 5,105 at the 2020 census. Morris is surrounded by some of the nation's richest agricultural land, and agribusiness is important to the loca ...

, Morley was raised there and in

Minot, North Dakota Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the 2 ...

, where his family later moved during his youth. He graduated from high school in

La Jolla, California La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...

, in 1964 and then attended

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in t ...

in Tempe and was a two-time first-team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n on the

Sun Devil The Arizona State Sun Devils are the athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member o ...

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

team in 1967 and 1968.

Professional career

Morley won a handful of tournaments as a professional, including the satellite

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

Magnolia State Classic, and the

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrati ...

Ed McMahon-Jaycees Quad Cities Open The John Deere Classic is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It is played annually in July, usually the week before The Open Championship, at TPC Deere Run in the Quad Cities community of Silvis, Illinois. History The tournament beg ...

; both events were opposite major championships. He had a great deal of success at the

Bing Crosby Pro-Am The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, held annually at Pebble Beach, California, near Carmel. The tournament is usually held during the month of February on three different courses, currently Pebble Beac ...

finishing in the top-10 four times including a solo 2nd in 1976. His best finish in a major was a tie for eighth at the U.S. Open in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Syst ...

at Baltusrol. After losing his PGA Tour card in 1984, Morley played on an

Asian Tour The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf tour in Asia except for Japan, which has its own Japan Golf Tour, which is also a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. Official money events on the tour count for ...

for two or three years. When he retired as a tour professional, Morley first tried selling real estate in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...

, but found that golf course architecture and design was the business that he wanted to pursue. Early in this phase of his career, he worked for Tom Watson's firm. Today he is a partner in a golf course architecture and design business with fellow former PGA Tour golfer

Dan Halldorson Daniel Albert Halldorson (April 2, 1952 – November 18, 2015) was a Canadian professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Canadian Tour. Halldorson was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and raised in Brandon, Manitoba. He did not attend col ...

. Most of the courses Morley has designed are in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

. Morley was inducted into the North Dakota Golf Hall of Fame in 1977, and is also a member of the Arizona State University Hall of Fame. He was voted ''Mr. Golf'' for 2002 by the Minnesota Golf Association, and lives in Minot, North Dakota.

Amateur wins

*mid-1960s Two North Dakota State Amateur Opens

Professional wins (11)

PGA Tour wins (1)

Other regular wins (9)

*1972 Magnolia State Classic *1973 Shreveport Open,

North Dakota Open The North Dakota Open is the North Dakota state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. History The inaugural event was in 1964. The event was one-round long and had a purse of $2,000. Eddie Langert of St. Paul, Min ...

*1975 Minnesota State Open *1978

*1982 Minnesota State Open *1983 Minnesota State Open,

Arizona Open The Arizona Open Championship is the annual open state championship of golf in Arizona. The competition is 54-holes of stroke play (3 rounds on an 18-hole course), with the winner being the player with the lowest total number of strokes. Following ...

*1986

Senior wins (1)

*2003 Minnesota Senior Open

Results in major championships

''Note: Morley never played in

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later t ...

.''
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

References

External links

*
Arizona State University Athletics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morley, Mike American male golfers Arizona State Sun Devils men's golfers PGA Tour golfers Golf course architects Golfers from Minnesota Golfers from North Dakota People from Morris, Minnesota Sportspeople from Minot, North Dakota 1946 births Living people