Morgan took top honors in the Men’s Open Pro Division scoring 488 with a dominating 21 twelve-ring hits for the weekend, despite strong winds that curtailed scores across the field. He was joined in the final shoot-down by fellow Gold Tip Pro Tommy Gomez and fellow Bee Stinger Pro Joseph Goza.

ASA 3-D archery features competitive rounds shooting lifelike, three-dimensional animal targets made of foam. Gold Tip and Bee Stinger shooters ruled the event in the unknown yardage divisions. In addition, Lewis Holmes took the top spot in the new Known-Distance Pro Division.

Gold Tip and Bee Stinger are Vista Outdoor brands and two of the most recognizable and trusted names in tournament archery and in bowhunting. For more information, visit www.GoldTip.com and www.beestinger.com.

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Friday’s opening round found Morgan paired with Tommy Gomez, who was holding onto second position in the SOY totals. Both struggled to gain traction, opting to play it safe and not give up points rather than take an aggressive approach. The strategy led to some solid scores, but not big numbers. Morgan finished out day 1 with a 208, picking up two points on Gomez heading into the final round of the Classic.

At the ASA outdoor 3-D event, Pro Division contestants shoot two rounds of twenty targets from unmarked distances that vary in distance up to 50 yards. The five highest scores from the first two rounds qualify for the shoot-off to decide the winner. Shooter of the Year is determined by cumulative totals of first and second round scores from each ASA event throughout the season. Shoot down scores do not count toward the SOY totals.

“For me, this is the most stressful time of the year. I know I should just focus on winning the tournament and that’ll lead to winning SOY, but those scoring totals keep creeping into my head and I start shooting conservative,” said Morgan. “It goes against my typical strategy where I come into a tournament planning to be aggressive. If I need points, I shoot for what it takes to win. But this time I hit a bunch of targets, shot well, but didn’t score very high. I just wasn’t taking the risks.”

Heading into the second day of the event, Morgan was 16 points off the event leader. His focus quickly switched from advancing in the Classic, itself, and turned entirely to holding on to his SOY points total and claiming the 10th title in a row, which he wanted so badly. Again, paired with Gomez, both shooters came out of the gate slow. Yet, Gomez, knowing he had to become aggressive, kicked it into gear and hit a streak of targets that put him within one point of tying
Morgan for the SOY points total. With the second half of the final round remaining, Morgan was struggling to find a 12, while Gomez seemed to hit everything he set his sight on.

“I actually stepped away behind a tree and had have a conversation with myself,” said Morgan. “I realized I had to start shooting aggressively, which was the strategy that has always gotten me in a position to win year after year. I just had to start shooting as if I was chasing the lead.”

The change of strategy paid off. Morgan pounded 12’s on seven of his final nine targets to secure the SOY title, his 10th in row. The late surge gave Morgan a two-day total of 428 at the Classic, winning the SOY by 13 points. It also put Morgan in the final shoot down at the Classic, where he claimed a third place finish at the tournament, itself.

Reflecting on the 2016 win and how it compares to wins in 2014 and 2015, Morgan felt there was a difference. Ten years ago, Morgan set a goal of winning eight SOY titles in a row, breaking what had been the record of seven at the time. He was told it couldn’t be done, but worked hard and made it happen. So, while his eighth SOY title may have proven his sweetest, it has only fed his drive to keep winning.

“This was such a tight race this year, I felt the pressure, so this season seemed to have more weight to it. I felt like if I made one small mistake, had just a couple bad targets, the whole season of work could come crashing down,” said Morgan. “The whole season can come down to a few points. Just thinking about it made me a little nauseous and gave me cold sweats. But, I guess I shoot better when I’m feeling nervous, something takes over and I regain focus.

“Now, I can go into the IBO World’s next week knowing I don’t have to stress about a points race. I can come in and shoot aggressive, the way I like, and shoot to win. And after that, it’s hunting season – what more motivation do I need?”

ABOUT LEVI MORGAN: World renowned archer, Levi Morgan, is a 11x World Champion, 48x National Champion, 12x Shooter of the Year and has won the ASA Shooter of the Year title a record setting 10x in a row. He is the Host of the popular hunting show, Name The Game, which airs on the Sportsman Channel. For more information on Levi Morgan, please visit NameTheGameTV.com.

LEVI MORGAN TOURNAMENT SET UP:  
BOW: Elite Victory 37
ARROWS: Gold Tip Triple X with Q2i Raptor vanes, 150 grain heads
REST: QAD HDX Tournament Prototype
SIGHT: CBE Vertex, 4x lens, .015 fiber
RELEASE: SCOTT Longhorn Pro Advantage
PEEP: Peeping Tom

The post Archery Shooter Association News: Levi Morgan Wins 10th Straight ASA Shooter of the Year Title appeared first on Inside Archery Archery Newsfeed.

“Coming off the big OPA Tournament that Samantha and I hosted two weeks ago, I finally had some time to practice ahead of this event. Maybe even a little too much,” said Morgan. “I started out Saturday’s first round really slow, in fact, I eighted my first target and didn’t shoot a 12 in the first seven targets. But then I hit a streak of five targets and suddenly I was 8-up and back in it.”

It was soon after the string of five that bad weather blew back in and caused a delay on the course. The delay put a halt to Morgan’s streak and slowed him down for the rest of the first round. Despite not shooting as well as he had hoped, Morgan finished the first round in second place, at 10-up, with the leader in at 14-up.

At the ASA outdoor 3-D event, Pro Division contestants shoot two rounds of twenty targets from unmarked distances that vary in distance up to 50 yards. The five highest scores from the first two rounds qualify for the shoot-off to decide the winner.

With the cancelation of Sunday’s second round of the Men’s Open Pro division, it proved to be six shooters in with the top five scores that headed to the shoot off. Each was spotted 200 for the missed second round. Morgan entered the shoot off at 410 and maintained his second place position until the sixth arrow, when he shot a clutch 14 to tie the leader, Joseph Goza, at 480. Headed for a 7th “extra” target, Morgan’s Gold Tip Triple X arrow soon found the 10 ring, which was good enough to best Goza’s 8, and take home the win.

“You just never know what’s going to happen in these tournaments, you just can’t give up,” said Morgan. “When I stuck that 10 I really thought I’d just lost the tournament, but that wasn’t the case this time around. All I can do is thank the Lord. He’s definitely in control, not me.”

ABOUT LEVI MORGAN: World renowned archer, Levi Morgan, is a 11x World Champion, 48x National Champion, 12x Shooter of the Year and has won the ASA Shooter of the Year title a record setting 9x in a row. He is the Host of the popular hunting show, Name The Game, which airs on the Sportsman Channel. For more information on Levi Morgan, please visit NameTheGameTV.com.

LEVI MORGAN TOURNAMENT SET UP:  
BOW: Elite Victory 37
ARROWS: Gold Tip Triple X with Q2i Raptor vanes, 150 grain heads
REST: QAD HDX Tournament Prototype
SIGHT: CBE Vertex, 4x lens, .015 fiber
RELEASE: SCOTT Longhorn Pro Advantage
PEEP: Peeping Tom

The post Levi Morgan Takes the Win at London, Ky. ASA appeared first on Inside Archery Archery Newsfeed.

“No doubt, that course was maybe the toughest we’ve shot on the ASA circuit for as long as I can remember,” said Levi Morgan. “The dense under brush and long targets created a tunnel effect that could make it tough to gauge distances.”

But despite the combination of the tough course ASA served up for the first tournament of the year, as well as the long offseason, Morgan felt confident heading into the Foley event.

“You know, I just felt good from the time I left home to the time I got to Alabama. And, really, from the first target to the last, there really was never a moment where I felt like I was going to have to scramble,” said Morgan. ” I fell in love with the new Elite Victory 37 and right now my confidence level is maybe the highest it’s ever been.”

Morgan knew the key to success on such a tough course was relatively simple: stay out of trouble on the longer targets, while taking advantage of the shorter targets – hit the 12’s you have to hit in hopes of working up a string of 12’s on the longer targets to pull away. Without fail, Morgan managed to do exactly that, and posted a first round score of 220 with 10 12’s, giving him a six point lead heading into Sunday’s second round.

At the ASA outdoor 3-D event, Pro Division contestants shoot two rounds of twenty targets from unmarked distances that vary in distance up to 50 yards. The five highest scores from the first two rounds qualify for the shoot-off to decide the winner.

Sunny skies and ideal conditions greeted shooters again for Sunday’s second round of 20 targets. Morgan’s confidence continued, as did his string of 12’s, posting a second round score of 216 with 9 12’s. His two day total was 436, with 19 12’s, giving him a 14-point lead heading into the shoot-off for the win.

With the top five scores advancing to the shoot-off, Morgan left no doubt that he was letting up on his firm hold of the lead. Shooting 10’s on his first three targets of the shoot-off, Morgan finished up with a 12 on the fourth target and an impressive 14 on his final target to finish the tournament with a final score total of 492 and 21 12’s, a decisive 18-point difference from the second place shooter.

“There were an awful lot of prayers ahead of this tournament, asking God to guide my arrows and give me the strength to make the most of the opportunities,” said Morgan. “I know how fortunate we are to be able to do what we do in this industry and I’ve just got to keep working hard everyday to make the most of it.”

LEVI MORGAN TOURNAMENT SET UP:  
BOW: Elite Victory 37
ARROWS: Gold Tip Triple X with Q2i Raptor vanes, 150 grain heads
REST: QAD HDX Tournament Prototype
SIGHT: CBE Vertex, 3x lens, .019 pin
RELEASE: SCOTT Exxus
PEEP: Peeping Tom

The post Levi Morgan Dominates First ASA Shoot of 2016 appeared first on Inside Archery Archery Newsfeed.