James Morrison shelves plans to retire after dramatic victory

England's James Morrison defied the odds by winning the HotelPlanner Tour Grand Final to regain his DP World Tour card at the age of 40. It was his second victory of the year - 10 years after claiming the Open de Espana.

The second-tier circuit is meant to be the home of tomorrow’s generation, hungry young golfers looking to make a name for themselves, but Morrison proved that there is no substitute for experience. And he did so with his 13-year-son Finley on the bag.

He carded a final round of 70 to seal a deserved three-stroke victory on 15-under par at Club de Golf Alcanada in Spain - and more importantly punch his ticket back to the former European Tour circuit.

Morrison had been playing on the lower-tier HotelPlanner Tour this year with hopes of returning to the big time. Only the top 45 players in the Road to Mallorca rankings were eligible to compete in the HotelPlanner Tour season finale. And only the top 20 players on the rankings at the close of play earned cards for the 2026 DP World Tour season. 

Morrison started the week in 36th place in the standings, but this victory saw him leap 30 positions to sixth. The two-time DP World Tour winner had said at the start of the week that this was going to be his final event on Tour but that has all changed now.

"I've no clue how I feel to be honest," said an emotional Morrison, who has played in 438 tournaments on the DP World Tour. "I said this was going to be my last event, 100%, and this has completely messed it up, so I don't know.

"I'm so glad it's over, let's put it that way. I played nicely all week I didn't play as well today but dug into my memory bank and my wins on the DP World Tour. I think the wind blowing helped me, I knew the harder it got the more it played into my hands.  I stayed calm, stayed with it - couldn't feel my arms on 18, but couldn't care less, a win's a win."

Morrison finished three shots clear of Stefano Mazzoli, who also punched his ticket to the DP World Tour. Albin Bergstrom finished in a tie for third to pick up the 20th and final DP World Tour card.

Here is the full list of players who gained their cards:

JC Ritchie, David Law, Maximilian Steinlechner, Renato Paratore, Oihan Guillamoundeguy, James Morrison, Filippo Celli, Stefano Mazzoli, Daniel van Tonder, Sebastian Garcia, Daniel Young, Joshua Berry, Felix Mory, Euan Walker, Quim Vidal, Hugo Townsend, Tobias Jonsson, Rocco Repetto Taylor, Clement Charmasson, Albin Bergstrom.

Who is James Morrison?

Morrison was born in Chertsey on January 24, 1985.

He attended Reed’s School and played in the same England youth cricket team as Alastair Cook, Ravi Bopara and Tim Bresnan, with whom he remains friends.

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.

In 2006, Morrison turned professional and played initially on the 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.

In April 2010, he claimed his first win on the European Tour, winning the Madeira Islands Open, finishing the week on 20 under par. Three weeks later he finished second at the Open de Espana, having lost a playoff to Alvaro Quiros.

In May 2015, Morrison won the Open de Espana by shooting a final-round 69 for his second European Tour victory. Later that year, he finished second at the French Open, three shots behind Bernd Wiesberger.

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

He subsequently lost his tour card and had to return to the newly-named HotelPlanner Tour and in June 2025 he won the Blot Play9, his first victory for 10 years. His victory at the Hotelplanner Grand Final means he returns to the DP World Tour in 2026 with full playing rights.

He averages 280.04 yards from the tee, hits 64.20% of fairways and finds 64.18% of greens in regulation. He gets up and down from the sand 57.45% of the time, averages 28.80 putts per round and has a stroke average of 71.49.