James Morrison set to call the tune in all-British threeball

Sky Sports Golf, 9.30am Thursday

Ryder Cup heroes Francesco Molinari, Tommy Fleetwood and Thorbjorn Olesen will play alongside each other for the first two rounds of the British Masters, the marquee threeball teeing off at 12.25pm on day one at Walton Heath.

A sunny, breezy afternoon with pleasant temperatures is expected for the stars of Le Golf National, and the classy trio should all get among the birdies. Molinari can be fancied to edge the glamour match, but a better-value threeball option is James Morrison to beat Scott Jamieson and Daniel Brooks in the 12.05pm contest.

Morrison is based in Weybridge and has plenty of course knowledge to draw upon. He has twice qualified for the US Open through the Walton Heath qualifier, sharing top spot with Andrew Johnston in this year's edition of that 36-hole event.

Morrison has performed well at Wentworth, another Surrey layout which demands accuracy, finishing tenth in the 2012 BMW PGA and 11th in 2015. Accuracy is the strength of his game and he should enjoy a safer passage than Jamieson and Brooks through the dangerous Walton-on-the-Hill heathland in round one.

Jamieson missed the cut by three shots on home turf last week – a morale-crushing performance in the Dunhill Links – and the Scot has missed the cut the last five times he has teed up on the European Tour in the United Kingdom.

Brooks arrived at Walton Heath with form figures of WD-73-MC, the recently married Basildon man struggling for fitness and form. He has missed 19 cuts this year and withdrew from the KLM Open with a wrist injury.

Recommendation
J Morrison
2pts 7-4 Betfair, Paddy Power

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