Ziehm: Morrison standing tall on Korn Ferry Tour
A big golf story could be in the works — and this one isn’t on the PGA Tour. It exploded on that circuit’s alternate circuit — the Korn Ferry Tour — at last week’s Evans Scholars Invitational at The Glen Club in Glenview.
Tommy Morrison came out the winner, and — standing at 6-foot-9 — he may be the tallest player on any of the professional tours. Morrison turned pro after playing for the University of Texas in the NCAA Championship, and his success as a touring professional has been astounding.
In four Korn Ferry starts the 21-year-old finished tied for tied for 10th, then tied for fifth, then solo runner-up before his three-stroke victory at The Glen Club. His 29-under-par 255 for 72 holes was the sixth-lowest in Korn Ferry history and his score in relation to par was also the sixth best.
Morrison is only the fifth player to get a win in his first season on the circuit, the last being Illinois alum Adrien Dumont de Chassart in 2025. He’s on the PGA Tour now and so are three other winners of the Evans Scholars Invitational — world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (2019), Cameron Young (2020) and Harry Hall (2022).
Scott McGuinness, Morrison’s caddie, was also on Scheffler’s bag when he won the title.
Morrison’s win also made him the leader in a new four-tournament series for the Korn Ferry players, called the Route 66 Cup. The top three players in the series get bonus money — $66,000 for the champion, $22,500 for second place and $11,500 for third. The final event in that series is the Oct. 1-4 Compliance Solutions Championship at Patriot Golf Club in Oklahoma. That’s a week before the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship in Virginia.
“I can’t put it into words,” Morrison said. “The last couple weeks were crazy, and then to finish it off (with a win) was amazing.”
Morrison wasn’t even the whole show at The Glen Club. Another recent collegian, Ross Steelman, earned a share of top billing with just one swing. Steelman, who spent two years at Missouri and then two more at Georgia Tech, had a hole-in-one on a par-4. He was only the sixth player to do that in a Korn Ferry event.
Steelman used his driver to put his ball in the cup from 352 yards out on the 15th hole. The only Korn Ferry player with an ace from longer range was Timmy Crawford. He holed out from 365 in 2024.
Illinois Women’s Open
Sixteen-year old Conant High School student Madeline Gutierrez of Elk Grove captured the title in a two-hole playoff with Hinsdale’s Haeri Lee.
Only three players bettered par in the 36-hole test at Mistwood Golf Club. Gutierrez and Lee finished at 2-under 142 and Mistwood teaching pro Nicole Jeray, a two-time winner of the tourney that was first played in 1995, was a stroke back in third place.
Here and there
Trevor Immelman was named a captain’s assistant for the International side in the Sept. 22-27 Presidents Cup at Medinah. Captain Geoff Ogilvy added Immelman to his staff. His first captain’s assistant was Camilo Villegas and Ogilvy will name two more. Immelman competed in the Presidents Cup in 2005 and 2007, and won the Masters title in 2008. Now in his third stint as captain’s assistant, Immelman was the International captain in 2022.