Gabriel Morgan, the story of the new Chilean professional golfer who follows in the footsteps of Niemann

Chilean golf has received great news these days: Gabriel Morgan Birke has made the decision to try his luck as a professional player. A jump that took place several years later with excellent results at the amateur level and where he managed to represent Chile in various tournaments.

Morgan begins this new chapter after a year 2022 where he played four tournaments (including two in the Pro category), including the Latin American Amateur Championship, one of the most important events on the continent and which even gives the winner the chance to play two of the majors: the Augusta Masters and the British Open. There the chilean managed to finish in 15th place , remaining the nation’s second best golfer in the contest. He was only passed by Benjamín Saiz-Wenz, who finished seventh in the event held in the Dominican Republic.

That, added to a year 2021 where he achieved some very good results, including a victory at the Santo Domingo Rocks Open where he finished with a 12 under par, gave him the conviction that it was time to take the leap. most important step in his career. short term. “That year, I couldn’t play many tournaments, but I still got very good scores. That’s when I said it was my time. I’m playing well, it’s time to talk to my team. I had the support of my coach and my family and I left my job to start my path as a professional the 24-year-old golfer told El Deportivo.

A decision that was brought forward, since at one point he was going to wait to play the World Cup in September. A turning point in his programming which is due to the major objective he has set for this season.

“In the short term, I want to take part in the Korn Ferry Tour qualification school which starts in September. If I played the World Cup in France, I was going to have to do it as an amateur and I was not going to arrive at the first stage with experience. So I assumed that I had to be a pre-pro to get to this stage without too much pressure, to arrive with more experience as a pro. “, he comments.

The qualifying school can put you straight into the Korn Ferry Tour, the second highest golf tour in North America. To properly get to this point, Morgan already has a clear timeline. “My preparation will be to go play some mini tours that exist in the United States called All Pro Tour and different minor events that take place in Florida. This will allow me to play on pitches similar to those I will have in September. “, he concluded.

The golfer, like almost all the national scope, trains at the EM Academy of the famous coach Eduardo Miquel, who also manages Mito Pereira and Joaquín Niemann. Indeed, from the United States, the strategist took a few minutes to speak to La Tercera about this news. “He had a very good career as an amateur, he represented Chile, he was number one in the country for a long time and he is also very good at studying. He has my full support, he’s a great player “, he commented.

But the strategist also went further and explained what Morgan’s big challenge will be at the moment. “Not everyone reacts the same way when choosing a sport as a career, but I think you have all the tools to play golf well. He has the technique, the attitude, the head. Hopefully Gabriel can replicate the good race he had as an amateur. He deserves this step and I hope he can face it in a good way “, he concluded.

Gabriel turns professional after an amateur career where reached the 38th place in the world and in which he played various Pro tournaments in the country. Some of them were Prince of Wales Country Club Open, Las Araucarias Open, Scotia Wealth Management Chile Open, Polo Club Open, Brisas de Santo Domingo Open, and Cachagua Open, where he finished fifth. Besides won the Los Lirios match play .