Morrison keeps close to leaders at Catalunya
ENGLAND’S James Morrison produced a brilliant burst of scoring to lie one shot off the lead following the first round of the Catalunya Championship.
Morrison carded a five-underpar 67 at PGA Catalunya to share second place with Haotong Li and Sebastian Heisele, with Denmark’s Jeff Winther and the South African duo of Oliver Bekker and Darren Fichardt setting the pace on six under.
Fichardt had covered his first 17 holes in eight under par, only to run up a double-bogey six on the 18th.
Morrison was one over par with eight holes to play, but the 37-year-old birdied six of them to boost his chances of a third DP World Tour title and first since the 2015 Spanish Open.
“I played really well, just hit some bad shots at the wrong time to start with,” Morrison said. “It’s one of those courses that you’ve just got to stick to it as there are plenty of chances coming up.
“I played lovely and was two over par, it’s just the way the game goes. I stuck to it and didn’t go breaking clubs or losing the head.
“Played nicely (on the back nine), hit a few shots close, kept the momentum going and hit the right shots at the right time. I was playing with my best mate Wade (Ormsby) so it’s always nice to have a bit of fun on the way round.
“I’ve done well in Spain over the years and I like coming here. It’s nice to play a really, really good golf course, a tough course where you can’t miss any shots, you’ve got to be on your game the whole way round.
“I capitulated last week and missed the cut by one at the end, so I went home and rebooted and really happy to get moving early doors.”