James Morrison (golfer)

James Morrison
Morrison at the 2011 KLM Open
Personal information
Full nameJames Ian Morrison
Born (1985-01-24) 24 January 1985 (age 39)
Chertsey, England
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight81 kg (179 lb; 12.8 st)
Sporting nationality England
ResidenceWeybridge, England
Career
CollegeUniversity of South Carolina
Turned professional2006
Current tour(s)European Tour
Professional wins2
Highest ranking80 (4 October 2015)[1]
Number of wins by tour
European Tour2
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA Championship77th: 2015
U.S. OpenCUT: 2010, 2018
The Open ChampionshipT20: 2015

James Ian Morrison (born 24 January 1985) is an English professional golfer.

Early life

Morrison attended Reed's School.[2] He played in the same England youth cricket teams as Alastair Cook, Ravi Bopara and Tim Bresnan, with whom he remains friends.

Amateur career

At the age of 16, he switched to golf and his handicap fell from 18 to scratch in less than a year. He subsequently accepted a scholarship to the University of South Carolina.

Professional career

Morrison turned professional in 2006 and played initially on the PGA EuroPro Tour.

At the end of 2007, he played all three stages of Qualifying School and finished 44th, earning a regular place on the Challenge Tour. He finished 18th in the 2009 Challenge Tour Rankings to secure his place on the 2010 European Tour.[3]

In April 2010, he claimed his first win on the European Tour, winning the Madeira Islands Open BPI - Portugal, finishing on 20 under par.[4][5] Three weeks later he finished second at the Open de España, having lost a playoff for the title to Álvaro Quirós.[6]

In May 2015, Morrison won the Open de España by shooting a final-round 69 for his second European Tour victory.[7] Later that year, he finished second at the Alstom Open de France, three shots behind Bernd Wiesberger.[8]

In August 2021, Morrison recorded his best finish on the European Tour since 2015. He carded a final round 63 at the Hero Open to finish one shot behind Grant Forrest. Forrest birdied the final two holes to take the title from Morrison.[9]

Personal life

Morrison has suffered from the chronic auto-immune condition Crohn's disease since his mid-teens.[10]

Professional wins (2)

European Tour wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 11 Apr 2010 Madeira Islands Open BPI - Portugal −20 (67-65-66-70=268) 1 stroke England Oliver Fisher
2 17 May 2015 Open de España −10 (70-71-68-69=278) 4 strokes France Édouard España, England David Howell,
Spain Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Italy Francesco Molinari

European Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2010 Open de España Spain Álvaro Quirós Lost to par on first extra hole

Playoff record

Challenge Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2009 SWALEC Wales Challenge Wales Rhys Davies Lost to par on third extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open CUT CUT
The Open Championship T23 T20 CUT
PGA Championship 77 CUT
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Results in World Golf Championships

Tournament 2015
Championship
Match Play
Invitational
Champions T27
  Did not play

"T" = Tied

See also

References

  1. ^ "Week 40 2015 Ending 4 Oct 2015" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  2. ^ "OR News". The Reeder: 44. 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  3. ^ "James Morrison: Biography". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  4. ^ "Morrison holds on for first tour win". PGA European Tour. 11 April 2010. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
  5. ^ "George Murray delighted to finish third in Madeira". BBC Sport. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  6. ^ Bisset, Fergus (2 May 2010). "Alvaro Quiros wins Open de España". Golf Monthly. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  7. ^ "James Morrison of England Wins Spanish Open by 4 Shots". Golf.com. 17 May 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  8. ^ "French Open: Bernd Wiesberger wins ahead of James Morrison". BBC Sport. 5 July 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Big finish hands Forrest maiden title in Scotland". European Tour. 8 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  10. ^ "Morrison battles Crohn's disease to lead in France". CNN. 1 July 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2015.