Morrison fires 60 for early lead in Masters

England’s James Morrison set a new course record with a stunning round of 60 on day one of the Omega European Masters.

Morrison made the most of ideal conditions for the early starters to record an eagle, nine birdies and a solitary bogey to finish 10 under par, three shots clear of compatriot Marcus Armitage and France’s Robin Sciot-Siegrist.

An eagle on the parfive ninth, his final hole, would have given Morrison the second 59 in European Tour history, but the 36-yearold narrowly failed to hole his pitch from short of the green and had to settle for a tap-in birdie.

“First group out at 7.40 the greens were absolutely perfect, no wind, you know you have to take advantage, but doing it is the thing isn’t it?” Morrison said.

“I holed a couple of good putts, chipped in on 11 and it snowballed from there.

“I had eight holes to go but you use that as a mental tool to keep pushing forward because it’s a fourround event.

“Minus 10 is not going to win it, you need to be minus 20 or plus, so you have to keep your foot down and keep going.”

Armitage carded seven birdies in a bogey-free 63 as he enjoyed returning to a venue where he has fond memories away from the course.

“I’ve only been here once before and that’s when I got engaged four years ago,” Armitage said.

“Unfortunately Lucy isn’t with me but I have great feelings here and a couple of weeks off has paid dividends.

“I positioned it well off the tee. I like a golf course where you have to think a little bit, it’s not just get the driver out and whack it anywhere.”