James

Morrison

The 36-year-old Morrison brought the heat on Sunday at the Torrance Course at St. Andrews, carding a bogey-free, 9-under 63 to finish one shot back of winner Grant Forrest at the Hero Open. His 23-under 265 performance marked his first podium finish since 2016 and his second top 10 this season, following a T-4 at the Scandinavian Mixed in June. He’s notched two European Tour victories, at the 2015 Open de Espana and the 2010 Madeira Islands Open. On the season, Morrison has made 12 cuts in 19 starts, and he’s in the field for this week’s new ET event, the Cazoo Classic, which is being staged at London Golf Club and marks the final tournament of the tour’s U.K. swing.

The 35-year-old Englishman has made a nice career for himself on the European Tour, playing a full schedule every year since 2010, but although he has amassed plenty of money in that spell it has not been without struggles. No less than six times he has finished outside the top 100 in the end-of-year rankings. On the other hand he was a winner in 2010 (Madeira Islands Open) and 2015 (Open de Espana), and has collected 27 top tens in 300 starts. The woes have taken their toll, however, with him admitting that midway through last year he had his doubts about continuing on the golfing treadmill. A T4 in September’s KLM Open saved his card, but also highlighted his difficulties – it was a first top ten anywhere since the end of 2017. This season he is 4-for-7 and until the Qatar Masters (last start before lockdown) he lacked a top 40. But he managed T21 in Education City, offering some hope for when the sport returns to the fairways.

That was four adrift of winner Sergio Garcia. Morrison didn’t improve his position today but didn’t fall back either and is set to rise 32 spots on the Race to Dubai to 112th as a result. He started brightly with birdies at 1 and 3 but then went flat with ten pars and a bogey from Nos. 4 to 14. He finally found another red number at the par-5 15th before a bogey-birdie exchange at 17 and 18. A fine week’s work and Morrison now heads to Wentworth for a home game at the prestigious BMW PGA Championship in Surrey.

That’s three back from pacesetters Sergio Garcia and Callum Shinkwin although the Englishman will feel it’s he who could have been sleeping on the lead. While Garcia and Shinkwin played the final five holes in -2 and -3 respectively, Morrison swallowed a bogey and four pars over the same stretch. Morrison had two bogey-6s today (3 and 15) while dropping another shot at 9. But there was some good stuff too as he started with a pair of birdies and also ticked 4, 8, 11 and 13. Morrison has yet to bank a top ten this season so that looks a minimum aim tomorrow but, as a two-time European Tour winner, a victory will be in his crosshairs too and shouldn’t be ruled out.

Right now, he shares T1 with afternoon starter Callum Shinkin, who still has two thirds of his second lap to complete. The par 5s tell the story of Morrison’s round in the Netherlands today. He birdied two of them in the space of four holes on his opening nine when signing for 3s at 15 and 18. The Englishman also ticked the par-5 8th, his penultimate hole, but took seven swishes at No. 3 for double bogey. Further birdies at 11, 12, 2 and 6 against a bogey at 17 took him to double digits under par with one hole to play but he had to swallow a walk-off square at 9. Although he’s only 144th on the Race to Dubai, Morrison has flickered to life in recent starts with three top 30s in his last four events.

For a long while the Englishman look like being the only player to disturb the morning starters who had settled at the top of the leaderboard, but as it was he feel short of that, finishing the round T9 but just two swings back of the lead held by Callum Shinkwin. Morrison’s first move was backward, with bogey at the second, but he bounced back at the third and then made a double birdie bid at the fifth and sixth. His real move was midway through the back nine, a thrilling four red numbers in a line at the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th. But just as he hit the top he quickly feel from it, tripping himself up with bogeys at the 15th and 16th.

The Englishman was far from perfect today but, thanks mainly to a hot putter, ended his opening lap in a tie for seventh place, four back from leader Wade Ormsby. Morrison, who has slipped to 942nd in the world, started fast with a trio of red circles at 10, 11 and 12 before responding to a bogey at 14 with further gains at 16 and 18. The 34-year-old birdied the 3rd, one of just three par 5s, but frustratingly took six swings on the 8th to drop a shot at his penultimate hole. Morrison ranked 2nd for Putts Per GIR today after taking just 25 swishes while he hit only 11 GIR despite finding 11 of the 13 fairways.

The Englishman had endured a horror start to his 2019 campaign, managing just two T32s, a T71 and five missed cuts ahead of the Indian Open. But he spent the whole week in Delhi inside the top 20 on his way to T18. Now he returns to Rabat and the course where he came closest to winning this event. He didn’t make a top 20 in five starts at Golf du Palais Royal, but in 2017 on this RTJ Sr design he opened with a 70 for a tie of the first round lead, was T4 at halfway and ended the week T13. Last year was very nearly the exact opposite: A R1 79 for T47 on his way to a MC.

Morrison is making his first start in the event which mixes three days of strokeplay with a matchplay format on the final day but has some good memories of the venue, Lake Karrinyup, after posting a top four there in the 2014 Perth International (R2 63). His other two starts resulted in T43 in 2013 and MC in 2016. The Englishman was T32 in both the Aussie PGA and Dubai Desert Classic but has now missed three cuts on the spin. The latest needs some additional detail though. Morrison opened 68-69 in last week’s ISPS Handa Vic Open but was blown off course in Saturday’s winy third round (75) and missed the second cut which was reduced the field to T25 and ties. There are a few good signs although the bottom line is that he hasn’t posted a top 20 on the European Tour since T16 in last March’s Indian Open.