Bowling Green otolaryngologist Brad Morris practices Tuesday, July 17, 2018, in preparation for the 112th Southern Amateur Championship at the Club At Olde Stone. (Bac Totrong/photo@bgdailynews.com)

Brad Morris knows The Club at Olde Stone course as well as anyone.

But even he believes its character can push the best of the best to the brink.

“This course, even for a member, it can take you down,” Morris said. “It’s tough.”

However, the six-year member has had his share of successes at Olde Stone more than failures. He’ll put his game to the test against over 150 other amateurs in the 112th Southern Amateur Championship the club is hosting Wednesday through Saturday.

The 72-hole stroke play tournament features 156 of the top amateur golfers in the world, including seven members of Olde Stone.

Morris, 38, is the oldest of that group and third oldest player in the tournament, but has more hardware than any of them to back up his play as the four-time club champion since moving to Bowling Green in 2012.

“I’m out here at least once or twice a week playing or practicing and in summer I crank that up a lot,” Morris said. “I play year-round as much as I can out here. As a family, we’re out here a lot since we live out here. I’d say Kyle Shirley, of all the members, is the one who’s played out here more than me.”

The Southern Amateur Championship is the biggest tournament in which Morris has played in 16 years. A native of Clay City, Morris played golf at Eastern Kentucky University and was inducted into EKU’s athletic hall of fame in 2017. He graduated in 2002 and trained as a surgeon in Lexington before moving to Bowling Green. He’s currently an otolaryngology surgeon for ENT Bowling Green.

He played in two U.S. Amateurs in 2001 and 2002, finishing in the top 16 in ’02 and was a top-64 participant the first time. In the fall of 2001 for EKU, his average of 69 per 18 holes ranked top five in the nation.

He’s played in the two Kentucky Opens that Olde Stone hosted in 2009 and 2013, but no tournament since the U.S. Amateur measures up to the Southern Amateur Championship.

“They don’t compare to this,” Morris said. “I’m excited. Home course and I’m honored to represent Bowling Green and the club. It’s been fun.”

Morris has shot as low as 65 at Olde Stone, but miss the fairway once and trouble looms the rest of the way. Kevin Childers, Olde Stone’s director of golf, said staying out of the rough and hitting angled shots off the tee is crucial.

“When you’re driving the ball, you don’t really have straightaway holes at Olde Stone,” Childers said. “You’re hitting at angles in the fairways – fairways that are narrow landing areas. It’s going to play 7,300 to 7,400 yards long. The rough is always the deciding factor at Olde Stone. We have very challenging rough, the greens are as good as you’re going to see day in and day out anywhere in the country. It’s going to be a true test for golfers for 72 holes.”

Although Morris likes his confidence with distance off the tees, it’s his short game he says that will carry him through the Southern Am. But even knowledge and experience of the course can only do so much against top competition.

Rising Vanderbilt sophomore John Augenstein, an Owensboro native and reigning Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year, is rated as the eighth-best amateur in the world according to the Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking.

Other experienced members from Olde Stone playing in the tournament are Shirley, Justin Perry, Jordan Blann and Western Kentucky golfers Linus Lo and Billy Tom Sargent.

The rest of the field features some of the top college prospects in the nation.

“I want to play well and I know what I’m capable of doing out here,” Morris said. “It’s whether or not I’m capable of doing that in a tournament. I know my best rounds and what I can consistently shoot may be good enough, but am I going to be able to do it under the gun? That’s the fun part, getting the competitive game going again. I don’t play in any major events anymore, so the opportunity to play in something like this is going to be pretty fun.”{&end}