A Swing in His Plans

Originally published by The Dallas Morning News. [Read]

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A Swing in His Plans
With soccer as his first love, Morrow’s shot at golf pays off nicely
DAMON L. SAYLES
Published: July 4, 2004

Who would have thought a die-hard soccer fan would win $20,000 by playing golf?

That was Ben Morrow’s true passion not long ago. Dribbling a soccer ball, bicycle kicks, headers, scoring goals. It was something he was good at, something he loved.

Four years later, soccer’s quietly taken a backseat. Morrow now talks about 9-irons, avoiding sand traps and who’s on top of the PGA Tour.

And scholarships. Big scholarships.

The Flower Mound graduate admitted to often staring at his oversized novelty scholarship check, a $20,000 prize he received Monday after winning the Northern Texas PGA Junior Golf Foundation’s Justin Leonard Scholarship.

“I played soccer since the eighth grade. I was on a select team,” Morrow said. "But my dad played golf in college, and my grandpa played on the PGA Tour. All my cousins on my dad’s side play, too.

“I decided to play because I wanted to fit in.”

By turning his focus to golf, Morrow was greatly rewarded. He will receive a $5,000 scholarship renewed annually for four consecutive years at whatever school he chooses. He also met Leonard, a former British Open champion, at Monday’s awards banquet.

“Ben’s a pretty low-key guy, but he was really thrilled about it all,” said Ben’s father, Bill Morrow, a former Northwestern State standout. “He had to make a speech and remarked on how the lessons he learned on the golf course will be with him as he goes to college. He learned patience and humility while playing.”

The NTPGA annually awards 10 scholarships to foundation members and renews seven additional awards totaling $61,000. Bill said the foundation awarded the first Justin Leonard scholarship in 1998.

Ben and Aledo’s Paige Padgett received the award for being what the foundation called the most outstanding male and female members. All scholarship recipients were selected on academic standing, community involvement and extracurricular activities.

Ben always went with his father and grandfather, former pro Tommy Morrow, to the links as a young child but never competed. He would be the designated person to find lost balls. He was too worried about soccer to pick up the clubs and practice his golf strokes.

Bill said Ben was an accomplished player for his select squad in Plano. Bill also said he wouldn’t have been surprised if Ben excelled in soccer on a collegiate level.

It didn’t take much for Ben to switch to golf, though. His select soccer team folded, and golf was the alternative. Throughout his high school career, he went from shooting in the high 100s to the mid 70s. He shot a career-best 74 at this year’s District 7-5A meet in April at Lake Park Golf Course in Lewisville.

“It was just natural for him to start playing, even though he didn’t start until ninth grade,” Bill said. "He really took it up with a passion then. He practiced harder than anyone that I’d seen.

“He’s so driven, and he really worked hard at improving. I wished he would have started earlier.”

Morrow is looking at either Rice or UT-Dallas for college and plans on double majoring in business and chemistry.

Ben also said he wanted to travel and study overseas for one semester. As for golf, he said he’s considering walking on if he attends Rice. NTPGA tournaments, however, always will be available for registration.

Even for former soccer players.

“It’s funny because I saw they had scholarships available on their Web site. At the time, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to just put my name out there,” Ben said. “To win it … it was unbelievable.”

E-mail dsayles@dallasnews.com

BEN MORROW

Age: 18

High school: Flower Mound (Class of 2004)

He said it: “I wasn’t expecting it at all. I remember coming home from school to check the mail. I opened the letter, and it said I had won the scholarship. I was jumping around the kitchen and called everyone I knew.” – on winning a $20,000 NTPGA Junior Golf Foundation Justin Leonard Scholarship

Notable: Morrow also earned an academic scholarship to UT-Dallas that will pay for his tuition. Morrow, however, is still waiting on Rice. … Tommy Morrow, Morrow’s grandfather, played on the PGA Tour for a year in the 1950s. He was a former standout at LSU. … The Northwood Club, where Morrow received his scholarship from Justin Leonard, was the site of the 1952 U.S. Open.

Did you know? Morrow is a Web page designer for businesses around the state. He’s done that for three years and taught himself with online tutorials. Morrow is working on a site for Texas A&M-Commerce’s special education department and also plans on creating a site for Project H.O.P.E., a statewide initiative intended to improve the quality of special education in high schools.

PHOTO: 1. (MARK M. HANCOCK/Staff Photographer) After much of his family made golf their game, Ben Morrow shifted from soccer to golf when he started playing in ninth grade. Now he’s happy he did. 2. (Ben Morrow) Flower Mound’s Ben Morrow (right) accepts the Northern Texas PGA Junior Golf Foundation’s Justin Leonard Scholarship from Justin Leonard.

Copyright 2004 The Dallas Morning News