From cricket to golf, Morrison learned game quickly

• By Ryan Ballengee
• May 25, 2012 12:06 PM ET

James Morrison leads the BMW PGA Championship through two rounds and while he may not be a household name in the golf world, his talent came naturally.

"Started playing golf when I was 16, went from 18 to scratch in ten months," Morrison said Friday. "And then went from there really. Haven't really looked back."

The 27-year-old Englishman displayed his skill with a bogey-free second round of 8-under 64 at Wentworth to take a four-shot lead at 12 under par.

Morrison played cricket for most of his adolescent life and has only been playing golf for 11 years. He played cricket on scholarship in secondary school until the age of 18, splitting time with golf.

"I wanted to play golf and that was it," he said. "But I was on scholarship, had to play until I was 18, stuck it out until I was 18 and played cricket and golf. So up until 18, I was playing golf four months a year really. Five months a year I was playing school sport, cricket."

If Morrison could hang on for his second European Tour win, he would gain entry into the U.S. Open. With his first child on the way in two weeks, however, he would not make the trip to Olympic Club.

"I wouldn't go, unfortunately," he said. "As hard as it would be to turn it down, no."