Friday, September 10, 2010 Previous editions
Saturday, July 31, 2010
IT’S a rarity indeed when a player walks off a golf course after shooting a round of 61 and is more than a little disappointed.
However, that’s the situation 29-year-old Londoner Ross Fisher found himself in yesterday after his 10 under par course record in the 3 Irish Open moved him to 12 under par and sent him into a three-shot lead over Francesco Molinari. The Italian in turn is two ahead of a group on seven under that includes three Irishmen, Pádraig Harrington, Michael Hoey and Rory McIlroy.
Thursday’s warm sunshine was replaced yesterday by a gloomy, often drizzly day but there was another fine crowd of 17,396. Once again, there was little in the way of wind, especially in the early part of the day when Fisher was piecing his outstanding score together. Ironically, though, it did whip up for a spell as he was coming to his last three holes and may have played its part in preventing him from becoming the first player on the European Tour to break 60. He had to settle for a five at the long 16th and was unable to pick up a birdie at either of the two closing holes.
"59 is an exclusive club to be a member of and it didn’t really enter my mind until I was standing on the 14th green waiting for David (Horsey) and Shane (Lowry) to putt," he stated. "If I knocked mine in, I would get to 10 under for the round and would need two more birdies in the last four to break 60. I immediately forgot about it and got on with the job at hand which was holing that putt.
"I managed to do so and tried to give myself four chances coming in and I did that as well. I slightly pulled my putt on 15 and hit three really good putts on 16, 17 and 18. I gave two of them a chance... 17 I left short in the jaws. 59 was there but I was quick to try and get it out of my mind and just focus on one shot at a time. I was strong mentally to block it out of my head."
Phil Morbey, known to one and all as "Wobbly" because of his unusual gait, has been on the Fisher bag for the past three weeks and has clearly made a big difference to one of the longest strikers in the game.
"Wobs is fantastic, he told me the other day that this is his 30th season so he’s pretty experienced," said Fisher. "He caddied for me before and it just felt like the time was right for a change. I wanted to give myself one last real chance to get on Monty’s team. He has given me that extra bit of added confidence, some self-belief. He tells me exactly how it is and doesn’t beat about the bush."
Ian Woosnam won his two Irish Opens in 1988 and ‘89 and the Masters in ‘91 with Morbey on the bag so they don’t come a whole lot better. ! Fisher captured the inaugural Volvo World Match Play Championship last November beating American Anthony Kim in the final to collect the third European Tour title of his career. He led all four major championships at one stage in 2009, performances that helped him to finish fourth in the Race to Dubai order of merit. It was his seven-stroke victory in the 2008 European Open at The London Club that first brought him to serious notice although he has been renowned for some time as one of the longest hitters in golf.
"This is why we play golf," Fisher enthused. "You always want your name up on the leaderboard and you want to be contending in whatever tournament you are playing. Obviously, this is a special tournament, I’ve done well in the Irish Open before and it’s the start of three really important weeks for me with the Ryder Cup coming up."
This is how Fisher described his 10 birdies in his course record round.
3rd, 200 yards, par 3. Hit a lovely tee shot in there, 6 iron, holed an uphill 15 footer.
4th, 418 yards, par 4. Hit a good nine iron to five feet.
5th. 454 yards, par 4. Hit six iron to about eight feet.
6th. 211 yards, par 3. Hit a five iron six feet past the hole.
7th. 513 yards, par 5. Hit a four iron on green to about 35, 40 feet.
8th. 410 yards, par 4. Good drive, pitching wedge to about six feet.
11th. 486 yards, par 4. Hit a good drive and eight iron to 15 feet.
12th. 477 yards, par 4. Driver and a little nine iron into about six feet.
13th. 501 yards, par 4. Driver and five iron to 20 feet.
14th. 389 yards, par 4. Driver, lob wedge to four feet.
Fisher is currently 17th in the Ryder Cup world points list and 13th in the European ranking. But his closest pursuer, Francesco Molinari, is actually in the side at present thanks to his sixth place in the European category. Victory here tomorrow night would virtually clinch his place at Celtic Manor in October. He knows Fisher quite well as both are coached by Denis Pugh and are members of the same club in London.
Justin Rose, who began on Thursday with a 74, survived into the weekend thanks to yesterday’s 68 that left him on the cut mark of level par along with Graeme McDowell who had to hole an 18-footer on the last to clinch his spot in the final two rounds.
© Examiner Publications (Cork) Limited, City Quarter, Lapps Quay, Cork. Registered in Ireland: 73385.