Coach CheyAnn Knudsen, left, has helped make junior Janie Morgan a better putter and player. (Centre College Athletics Photo)
Before Centre College golfers can leave practice they have to often make 50 straight 3-foot putts and 50 straight 4-foot putts.
While that can take a lot of time, junior Janie Morgan believes the work is worthwhile.
“That’s helped a lot with my putting because those 3- or 4-footers, those can make or break a round,” Morgan, a Louisville Sacred Heart graduate, said.
Extra work does not bother Morgan. Normally at least once per week she drives to Louisville for a private lesson. That’s a five-hour or more time commitment and not always easy to do with the academic demands at Centre.
“It takes a lot of commitment to work it into your schedule, but I think that it’s really important. My freshman year, I didn’t do as many lessons, but since then I have been doing weekly or biweekly lessons,” she said. “I’ve really seen a difference in my scores”
Her scoring enabled her to win Southern Athletic Association Player of the Year honors in 2024. She’s tried to avoid letting that put any additional pressure on her this season.
“I’m so excited that my teammates are playing well and I think that there’s a lot in store for our spring season,” she said.
Centre finished fifth in the Westbrook Village Invitational in Phoenix March 8-9 to open the spring season and is playing today in Ashland, Va., in the Max & Susan Smith Invitational where Morgan was tied for 10th individually after a first-round 74.
Morgan’s biggest personal goal is to win a tournament. She won a tourney her freshman year playing as an individual for the Colonels but wants to take the medalist honors in a team event.
“One of my biggest goals, obviously, is for us to win conference as a team again,” the junior said. “I would like to win it individually, to, to help my team win the title.”
Morgan has learned the “mental game” is even more important in college golf than it was in high school or junior competitions, so she tries to avoid checking the scoreboards during play. Her parents and brothers, including Centre College senior Charlie Morgan, are all golfers.
Her parents have a unique “Final Four” option to motivate her.
“If I play the final four holes under par, then I get some kind of reward from them,” she said. “They think you need to know how to finish (a round) and that emphasizes the value of a strong finish to us. It’s easy to let up and lose momentum, so they have always done this to make sure you keep your foot on the pedal until the round is over.
“I think it works because sometimes I’ll have a few bad holes on the back nine and then it resets me knowing I need to finish strong on the final four holes. That helps reset my brain.”
Morgan played volleyball until her eighth grade year but stopped because she knew that was not the sport she wanted to pursue in college. She started focusing more on golf but “didn’t really put my time in” until her sophomore year.
Her oldest brother is a “really good golfer” and a plus three handicapper. He played at Dayton and Bellarmine and hopes to try the PGA Tour Qualifying School.
“Just being able to practice and play with my three brothers and dad was great. I played a lot with my dad and we would push each other. I can still remember the first time I beat him,” she said.
She likes having a brother at Centre and says their relationship has “gotten closer” on campus.
“We’re friends and a lot of my friends are in the same friend group with him, so that’s been fun,” Morgan said. “It is nice having someone from my family here if you are having a bad day or whatnot.”
Morgan believes Centre certainly can continue its conference domination at the SAA Championships April 25-27 and believes the Max and Susan Stith Invitational along with a tourney at Wittenberg University April 13-15 will help the team peak at the right time.
“Last year before nationals we had like three weeks off and I think that impacted us because we hadn’t played in so long,” Morgan said. “I think having some good events before the conference championship will be a huge help.”
Morgan, a business major, has a sales internship scheduled this summer with ISCO, a global provider of piping materials. ISCO is also the major sponsor of the PGA Tour stop in Kentucky that will be at Hurstbourne Country Club in Louisville July 7-13. Morgan hopes she will be able to be involved in some capacity with the tourney.
Until then, Morgan wants to do all she can to help Centre win the SAA Championship and compete with the top teams at the NCAA Division III National Championship May 13-16 in Williamsburg, Va. She believes her course management is better along with her mental approach.
“I am not getting down on myself if I have a bad hole. I am trying to keep an even keel on the course,” she said. “My parents always say to be a ‘flat liner’ on the golf course. Of course, that’s easier said than done for me. I’m not perfect. There’s still some times where I do get frustrated, but I feel like I have grown a lot in that aspect.”
