Student Spotlight:
Sally Morgan
Sally Morgan has gained experience on some of the biggest stages professional golf has to offer. Morgan is a junior in the Professional Golf Management (PGM) program at Mississippi State. In her first internship with the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA), she worked with the Tennessee section of the PGA. This past summer the Milton, GA native served as the Championships and Merchandising intern at PGA headquarters in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. Over the course of the internship, she worked both the Men’s and Women’s PGA Championships at Westchester Country Club in New York and Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.
Morgan sat down with Dividends to discuss her golf background, professional experiences and perspective on the PGM program at MSU.
Describe the background on your involvement with golf starting in high school and moving into the PGM program at MSU.
My dad has been playing golf for a while, so I have had a club in my hand since I was four. I started playing competitively when I was eight years old, and I began playing in tournaments all over the Southeast. I played competitively for about 10 or 11 years before I came here. I was on my high school team as well. In high school I got a lot of offers to play golf at schools, but in my mind I never saw myself playing on TV. I saw myself working in the industry. I still wanted to be involved in golf, but maybe not necessarily playing professionally. I wanted to be more on the corporate side of things.
Why did you choose to attend MSU?
I looked at 10 of the 19 universities that have the program. I guess I kind of just came on campus and it felt right. I just felt it—the whole atmosphere and the way the program was run. It was the second program to be established, so I knew it was well established.
What is unique about the PGM program at MSU?
The fact that it’s in the business school is really key. That was one thing that I was looking for because other schools may have it in departments like Parks and Recreation or Hospitality. I wanted a business degree. I think having a business degree is very beneficial to have out of college especially for what I want to do, working corporately or in the industry somewhere.
Describe the process of getting the internship with the PGA.
Being close with [MSU PGA Golf Management Program Director] Jeff Adkerson and Adam Scott, our Assistant Director, is really key because they obviously have a lot of connections. The more you seem interested in what you want and where you want to be, the more willing they are to help you get those things.
What were your major roles in the internship at PGA headquarters? What were your day to day responsibilities?
This summer they had 11 different departments at headquarters, and each intern was in a specific department. They put me in the Championships and Merchandising department. I was in New York for a month, and I helped run the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. That was on the tournament operations side of things, so I helped run the Pro-Am, which involved dealing with the players, celebrities and other amateurs. When I was back at headquarters, I was helping people set up for the PGA Championship, which was at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.
By: Carew Ferguson
for DIVIDENDS Magazine