Morris Hatalsky

Started playing golf at age 10 after his brother gave him a set of clubs. At 17 won the Mexico National Junior champion and in 1969, was the San Diego High School golfer of the Year. When he turned pro in 1973 it took him five Q-schools before he got his card. During his first full year on Tour in 1977, he finished second to Dave Eichelberger in the Greater Milwaukee Open. Even though his next year was a tough one (finished 114th on the money list) he went to Ken Venturi for help. Venturi changed the fundamentals of his swing and his thoughts about how to play the game and it paid off with a victory in the 1981 Hall of Fame Classic on the famed No. 2 course at Pinehurst. Two years later in the 1983 Greater Milwaukee Open, he visited the winner's circle again, beating George Cadle in a playoff. Also in 1983, he led the PGA Tour putting category. Hatalsky experienced five years without a win, until he beat Tom Kite in a playoff at the Kemper Open and then went into a tailspin, dropping to 149th on the money list in 1989. On the verge of retiring from golf he won the 1990 Bank of Boston Classic. He birdied three of the last four holes at the Pleasant Valley C.C. for a one-stroke win over Scott Verplank . . Played on the PGA Tour between 1977 & 1994 in 459 tournaments making the cut 284 times. Along with his four wins, he has 32 top-10 finishes and earned $1.7 million dollars.
2012 Notes: Made the fewest starts of his Champions Tour career when he played in just 11 events. Had three top-20 finishes, including a T13th at the Regions Tradition and a T16th at the Pacific Links Hawaii Championship. Teamed with Larry Nelson to finish T18th at the Liberty Mutual Insurance Legends of Golf, finished the year 65th on the money list with $172,502.
2013 Notes: Played just 11 events, but a pair of strong showings in major championships highlighted his season. Best finish since 2010 when he was T-8th at the Regions Tradition. Finished T-6th later in the month at the Constellation Senior Players Championship, where he posted rounds of 66-67 on the weekend at Fox Chapel. It was his best major championship finish since he was fourth at the 2005 Senior PGA Championship. It also marked the first time since 2002 that he had a pair of top-10 finishes in majors in the same season. Finished the year 61st on the money list and 32nd in the Schwab rankings.
2014 Notes: Limited his season to just 11 events for the third consecutive year. Teamed with Don Pooley to post a T-5th finish in Big Cedar Lodge Legends of Golf. Was 85th on the money list.