Champ Morgan looks ahead to Coomealla

RED Cliffs golfer Daryl Morgan claimed a second Merbein Open victory in three years after an even-par result over two rounds.

With ‘Royal Merbein’ in arguably its best ever condition, Morgan shot an even-par 144 in rounds of 71 and 73 to finish five strokes clear of Clinton Jones on 149.

Broken Hill’s Jenny Stephenson secured consecutive open titles following her victory at Mildura the previous weekend.

While she was 16 strokes clear at Mildura, it was a much tighter affair at Merbein as she finished with 160, ahead of Riverside’s Lisa Garioch on 162.

In the juniors, Cameron Smith – a name suited for golf – claimed top honours with an impressive 169 ahead of Sam Trinick on 208.

Morgan, who previously won at Merbein in 2022, said he was happy with his performance.

“I hit them pretty well both days but the greens can be pretty tricky,” Morgan said.

“Maybe I didn’t capitalise on opportunities that were there on Saturday and might have been a little sloppy at times on the second round but to come away with par over two rounds I was pretty happy with.

“I never look to what others are doing because I think it can be a bit of a distraction, but it was nice to have a couple of shots up my sleeve.

“There was no real wind around which made it nice for scoring across the weekend, although it was pretty cool on Saturday morning.”

Morgan said Merbein was in the best condition he had seen.

“The work the volunteers have done has been brilliant, but I think especially having the new clubhouse there has created a great atmosphere: everyone being able to watch as you come up to the 18th hole,” he said.

“The fairways were immaculate.”A lot of credit has to go to the club members.”

Attention now turns to this weekend’s Coomealla Open, with Morgan especially keen to take top honours.

“I think since coming back to the region about four and a half years ago it’s about the only one I haven’t won yet so it would be nice to have a couple of solid rounds out there,” he said.