Scottish golfer James Morgan finds home, team at Kirkwood

MARION — Cedar Rapids to Chicago. Chicago to London. London to Edinburgh.

The way in which Kirkwood redshirt sophomore golfer James Morgan describes the 15-hour flight home to visit his family explains a lot about the young man’s ability to adjust to his surroundings when faced with adversity.

“It’s two short flights and one long haul,” said Morgan who is from Longniddry, Scotland. “I’ve done it so much now that you get used to it. It gets easier as you do it.”

Morgan, 20, was a young sophomore for the Eagles when the 2020 season was canceled after just one tournament because COVID-19 restrictions.

“I felt like with so much unknown, the best decision for me was to go home and figure out our next plan from there,” Morgan said. “It was nice to spend some time with family, a little more than usual, but I’m glad to be back here playing golf and I have a great team.”

Leading after the first round of the Eagle Spring Classic, hosted by Kirkwood at Hunters Ridge Golf Course in Marion last week, Morgan settled for a tie with teammate Kolby Shackelford. Morgan shot rounds of 72 and 76, Shackelford 73-75.

The Eagles play at the Iowa Central Community College Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

“I’d say (Scotland) is a bit windier, but today was pretty breezy,” Morgan said after the meet, which included 86 golfers from Coe, Mount Mercy and Upper Iowa, among others. “Maybe I’m used to it, but it’s tough for everyone regardless if you’ve played in it all of your life.”

With graduation behind him, the third-year Eagle is focused on a business entrepreneurship he’s working on through Kirkwood while getting ready with his team for a run at the regional tournament and, hopefully, the national tournament.

“It’s great to have one or two guys pushing each other and for us 3-4-5-6-7 guys, because we have a deep team this year and we push each other every day in practice,” Morgan said. “We can try to do something special this year.”

Morgan is proud to say he receives plenty of support back home in Scotland from his parents Gary and Sarah and here in Cedar Rapids.

“My family is always supportive and to have that is massive,” Morgan said. “We’re treated really well at Kirkwood, too. The school has done so much for me and to represent them in a good manner is great. It’s a great school with great people and that’s what makes representing them even better.

“I love playing for this school and my coaches. It’s just a shame it’s coming to an end.”

That doesn’t mean Iowa will be a forgotten memory for Morgan once he moves on to a four-year school and chases his dreams of becoming a pro golfer. He’s undecided where that next step will take place.

“It’s always going to be a home away from home,” Morgan said. “I treat people here as family. They’ve made me so welcome and I’m just so grateful to have the people I’ve met here in my life. It’s a real blessing.”

And what if Morgan makes it to the PGA?

“Maybe I’ll have property out here some day when I get some money in my bank account,” Morgan said. “I love it out here. I love the people and I love this place. We’ll see. To be continued ...”