Golf-Morrison overcomes personal problems to lead in France

SAINT QUENTIN, France, July 1 (Reuters) - Britain's James
Morrison put aside illness, which threatened to prevent him
playing this week, and family problems to capture the French
Open lead after Friday's second round. 

Morrison fired a second successive five-under 66 for a
10-under total of 132 to surge into a one-shot lead at the
National course near Paris. 

Richard Green, co-overnight leader with Briton Graeme Storm,
looked as though he would stay in front until the Australian
left-hander threw in a late double-bogey six to slip to second
place with a 68. 

Green was three strokes better than third-placed Briton Mark
Foster who led last week's BMW International in Munich going
into the final round before finishing tied third. 

Morrison claimed his maiden win in last year's Madeira
Islands Open but has suffered this season, missing nine cuts in
16 events. 

"A lot of personal things have been going on off the course
but I feel I'm starting to play very well," the 26-year-old
Englishman told reporters after reeling off five birdies in
seven holes from the second, playing it as his back nine. 

"I got married in January but my wife's been pretty sick
with a couple of cancer scares and she's had a couple of
miscarriages in the last three months.  

"I've got Crohn's disease and I had a flare-up at the start
of the week. As late as Wednesday morning I wasn't going to play
but I've been put on steroids for the week and I think it's
calming me down," said Morrison. 

A quadruple-bogey eight at the notorious 18th hole meant
Storm plunged eight strokes off the pace. 

World number 12 Bubba Watson of the U.S. missed the cut
after two rounds of 74, blaming poor security and crowd
misbehaviour for his demise in a surly departure.