England’s John E Morgan will aim to put six difficult years behind him when he takes a one stroke lead into the final round of AGF-Allianz EurOpen de Lyon.
Morgan claimed his maiden European Challenge Tour win at the Charles Church Challenge Tour Championship three months after he overcame dyslexia and epilepsy to turn professional in April 2002 but admits he has found the interim period difficult, including losing his European Tour card.
Those struggles could be wiped away with a win in Monthieux after the 30 year old shot a 66 at the Golf du Gouverneur to move to 18 under par, a shot clear of Switzerland’s Raphaёl De Sousa and England’s Marcus Higley.
Morgan’s lead might have been more had it not been for a mobile phone going off in the crowd which he said distracted him on the seventh hole, contributing to a wayward drive en route to a double bogey six.
That came after an eagle on the third hole and the man from Bristol also eagled the par four 13th after a holing a superb 117 yard two iron second shot from the rough.
He said: “The shot on 13 was an absolute beaut. I was in some rough and I’m not a big hitter but as soon as I hit it I knew I had caught it well then I just saw it disappear. There was a bit of pelvic thrusts for the crowd after that one.”
After four top ten finishes so far this season, Morgan feels he has a good chance of landing that elusive victory and helping him towards winning his European Tour card back.
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