The John Morgan Story

For SI Golf Plus subscribers (code required to access), Farrell Evans delivers the fascinating (and somewhat shocking) story of John Morgan in the November 15 issue. At first glance, this looks like another of those puffed up pieces about the latest “hip” Tour player and next great white hope (with an accent).

You remember Morgan. He wears mock t’s, backward caps, listens to Eminem and acts like a wrestler. He almost qualified for the British Open by nearly winning the John Deere Classic.

But his recent travails make for an unbelievably compelling story, artfully told by Evans. The killer lead:

Flight attendants, please be seated for takeoff." Those were the last words John Morgan remembers hearing. He was aboard American Airlines Flight 769 to Reno, on the tarmac at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport; seated directly in front of him was Mike Mollet, who caddies for Jeff Brehaut on the PGA Tour. It was Sunday, Aug. 15, and both men were heading for the Reno-Tahoe Open, where Morgan was hoping to secure his Tour card for the 2005 season with a strong showing. He was also excited about seeing his parents, who had flown in from his hometown of Portishead, England, to watch him play.

"Don't be kicking my seat like a little kid," Mollet had said to the 26-year-old Morgan in the waiting area before they'd boarded the plane. After the Boeing 747 had been sitting on the tarmac for 15 minutes, the pilot moved the plane into position for takeoff and revved its engines. On cue, Morgan began kicking the back of Mollet's chair. "Stop playing," Mollet said. But the kicking did not stop, and when Mollet finally turned to look behind him, he knew that Morgan wasn't playing -- his eyes had rolled back in his head and his body was convulsing.

Although he was wearing a seat belt, his 6'2", 200-pound frame shot up, ramming his head into the overhead compartment, and then crashed down across the armrest. As flight attendants scurried to help, Mollet, Rick Goyette, another Tour caddie who happened to be on board, and several other passengers did what little they could to make Morgan comfortable. Minutes later, the pilot pulled the plane out of its takeoff position and cut across two active runways to get back to the gate.

An ambulance was on the way for John Morgan. Morgan bit off part of his tongue, cracked two ribs and lost consciousness on August 15. By the time he was out of the hospital and ready to play, his game wasn’t the same and Morgan went from looking like a solid bet to keep his card to a 145th place finish and conditional status.