Morris major

Playing two rounds over two days on the par-70 course, Morris shot 81 in blustery conditions to finish equal second in the standings after day one.

But as the weather improved so did the Shepparton Golf Club ace.

She zeroed in to shoot 74 on day two, storming ahead to claim the Ruby Mackenzie Trophy ahead of Sale Golf Club’s Joanne Ballinger.

“I’m very happy with the win, it’s the first spring tournament that I’ve won, so I’m very pleased with that,” Morris said.

“The conditions on the Monday were very difficult and challenging; we had over 50km winds, so it made it hard for everybody.

“The scoring wasn’t great, I only finished equal second after the first day.

“Then it was much better conditions the second day and I played good, steady golf, so (I’m) really happy.”

It wasn’t the first time Morris, who plays off a 1.2 handicap, has had a grip on the Ruby McKenzie Trophy.

In 2022, she shot rounds of 76 and 79 to take out Golf Australia’s April equivalent — the Victorian Women's Autumn Tournament — by seven shots.

However, while she had played at several spring tournaments prior to last week, Morris had never won it.

“I’ve probably played at three or four (spring tournaments),” she said.

“Golf Australia have an autumn tournament and a spring tournament; I had previously won the autumn tournament, so the spring tournament was one that I was keen to do well at.

“I finally got a win against a strong field; there were two other pennant team members in there and they are strong players, so it was good to have a win with such a strong field.”

With her triumph on the postcard-worthy Bellarine Peninsula, Morris signed off on a hectic few weeks on the links in the big smoke.

A week before her spring tournament grail, Morris suited up for Goulburn Murray at Victorian Country Week where her team finished second on a countback, missing out on pole position by five games.

“That was a little bit disappointing, but still, we did really well with a fairly inexperienced team, so we were happy with that result,” Morris said.

“A couple of weeks prior to that I had played in the Victorian Senior Open Tournament which was a three-day event and I finished fifth.

“I was a little bit disappointed with the end result there, but was still pretty pleased with the fifth.

“2024 has been a good year of golf and I hope to play in more tournaments next year.”

Morris indicated she’ll have a hit in local events for the remainder of the year, but both eyes are firmly fixed on 2025.

“I’ll just have a bit of a look at the calendar and see what’s out there, keep playing the events and see how I go,” she said.