One of golf’s great traditions to ring in the New Year is the wildly successful Morgan & Friends charity event, which raised just shy of $1 million this year for the fight against breast cancer.
Every January, Morgan Pressel brings some of the biggest stars on the LPGA to her home community of St. Andrews Country Club in Boca Raton, Florida. The membership at St. Andrews rises to the occasion every time as does Banyan Golf Club in nearby West Palm Beach, which puts on a second outing the following day.
Pressel, 34, started her foundation not long after she became the youngest major winner in tour history 16 years ago, at what’s now known as the Chevron Championship. Pressel’s mother Kathy died of breast cancer in 2003 and her memory is at the heart of this beautiful mission.
Now a lead analyst for Golf Channel’s LPGA coverage, Pressel has a different viewpoint of the tour she literally grew up on. Golfweek caught up with the two-time LPGA winner to talk about the work of her foundation and what fans might see on tour this season.
Congratulations on another hugely successful event. Can you tell us who you honored this year and how the money will be used?
For our honoree this year, we honored Denise Francella, Meaghan’s mom. That was really special to have her there after everything she’s been through the past 15 months, and to have her healthy and cancer-free. Meaghan has been one of my best friends for so many years, and it was very special to honor Denise in that way, and she spoke so beautifully. … We have our couple of really big programs that we fund through Boca Raton Regional Hospital, the first being the MammoVan and our Center for Cancer Genetics.
What we have found, and we have been talking with the hospital about the past year or so, is the demand for the MammoVan is really, really high. We are going to work together to put another MammoVan on the street.
How much does a MammoVan cost?
$1.5 million. That’s just the van and equipment. Then, of course, the technicians, the gas, the driver.
Last year, over 1,000 women had their mammograms on the van and 43 percent of the patients, which is a pretty cool stat, were new. … We host some wonderful events, and they’re a lot of fun, but really that’s what it comes down to, reminding people to get their mammograms. It’s just so important to stay on top of your health and that’s kind of our big, big message. Even if somebody drives down the highway and they see the van pass, maybe that would remind them to schedule their mammogram. It’s like a billboard on wheels.
What are you most intrigued about for 2023?
I think it’s going to be really interesting to watch the battle for No. 1. We have Lydia (Ko), Nelly (Korda), Atthaya Thitikul. Will Jin Young Ko regain her form? Will somebody else that we can’t even predict find their way up toward No. 1 in the world? I mean, how much did it change last fall? I think I would predict that to continue this year, and I think that’s going to be a fun little race to watch.
Do you think that Lydia Ko can dominate again?
It’s hard to bet against her, the way that she has brought herself back to the top of the game. Her form at CME, to do it in the fashion that she did, being ahead and she kept the gas pedal down. It was a hard week certainly, there was weather, but she never looked flustered, never looked bothered and just continued to plug along.
Of course, for Lydia and most players who get to No. 1 in the world, it’s the intangibles. It’s the thing that you can’t see, and I feel like she has that back in the way that she had when she was so dominant.
Nobody is ever on top of the world forever, it’s just too hard, there’s too much competition. In any sport there are fluctuations. She has rebuilt her game in a sense, maybe even more mentally than anything else. Obviously she’s happy off the golf course. We saw her beautiful wedding a couple weeks ago. She’s in a different place in her life, and I think that’s showing on the golf course as well.
Switching gears to your other job of assistant Solheim Cup captain, what are your main responsibilities right now? What does Stacy (Lewis) have you doing?
Stacy [Lewis, 2023 Solheim Cup captain] is so incredibly organized, I feel like she doesn’t need much help. You know, we’re really sounding boards, a lot of discussion on ways to make the week special, bring the players together.
I’ve definitely been put as the primary outfit consultant; I’m not saying that properly (laughs). We are done with the golf course outfits, and now we’re focused on opening ceremony outfits. … All these things that go on behind the scenes that as a player, not that I never thought about, but just how early these decisions are made and how much thought goes into them.
Stacy has been so thoughtful in how to really bring the past and present together. I don’t want to give too much away, but she’s put so much detail into a lot of the experience and what you see visually. I think it will be very cool.
From an inside the ropes standpoint, Europe has won four of the last six of these. Does this feel like a must win for Team USA?
Every team I’ve been on felt like a must win. That’s just kind of, I guess, certainly my nature. You know, I think with Europe’s track record, going to Europe and how strong their team has become, over the last however many years, they’re going to be a tough team, and we know that. We have to bring our very best. Stacy is really implementing some new things into the mix to make sure we’re fully prepared.
Not looking at playing records, who do you think has the most talent on the LPGA right now? Just raw athletic talent.
It would be hard to argue against Lexi (Thompson). You talk about pure athletic ability and her ability to deliver the club on the ball so spectacularly time and time again with a very homegrown swing. She’s not very mechanical, and it’s not textbook. But if you’re going to talk about athletic ability, she was the first one that came to my mind.
Same thing, not looking at record, who has the best swing in your mind?
In Gee Chun. I just love her rhythm. I love her rhythm, and I think that’s what makes her so unflappable under pressure.
What’s your history with Pebble Beach and who do you like for that week (2023 U.S. Women's Open)?
I played it a couple of times, in what used to be the Callaway Invitational around Thanksgiving time. I was there last February for the AT&T and I was just walking around thinking about how cool it is going to be this year to go to Pebble Beach for the U.S. Open, and I’m excited that I’m going to have a chance to be a part of it from the broadcast side.
It’s just such an iconic venue. I feel like I say this every chance I get, but venues matter. Venues are so important. … When the ladies get the chance to play and create their own history around these tracks, it brings more viewership. I think Pebble is going to absolutely blow it away, being prime time East Coast television. It’s going to be awesome.
Any guesses?
I keep coming up with different names, but then Lydia keeps popping back in my head. Just thinking about her success around greens with Poa annua, like Lake Merced, potentially cooler weather, very small greens that require tremendous short game. She just keeps popping back.
We've seen Lucy Li since, like you, she was super young, and now she has contended in the final group of an LPGA event. What do you expect out of Lucy (a rookie on the LPGA) having seen how her game progressed over the past year?
I was very impressed watching Lucy last year, especially calling Toledo. We talked about Lexi with her athletic ability, I think Lucy has this somewhat homegrown, not terribly textbook golf swing that has just tremendous fluid rhythm. … Lucy was here this weekend. She came to my event. It was really fun to have her here. I think she has a very bright future, and I think I speak for a lot of people when I say I remember her as a little one on the range at Pinehurst, with her colorful skirts and red, white and blue outfits. She showed a lot of personality there, and she’s one who will be really fun to watch.
