Playing out of the famous Wentworth club in England, much was expected of Ross Fisher
when he turned professional in 2004, and after a period of finding his feet on the
European Challenge Tour, he graduated to the European Tour in 2006 and has looked every
bit a champion ever since.
Although Fisher never won during his first full season on the European Tour, he did win
a Jaguar motor car when he finished closest to the flag on a hole during the British
Masters. His first victory came during the following season, in the KLM Open, and he moved
up the Order of Merit finishing his season in 43rd place.
In 2008 Fisher began to show his potential in no uncertain terms, and in claiming his
second victory, in the European Open, he dominated a strong field to win by seven shots
from Sergio Garcia. Surprisingly, Fisher opened his account in this event with a
career-low round of 63, this having never seen the course before and not even having had
the benefit of a practice round.
A series of excellent performances saw Fisher’s name near the top of the
leaderboards for most of the season, and he came tantalisingly close to adding to his
trophy cabinet. In the HSBC Champions tournament he found himself tied with two big guns,
Lee Westwood and Phil Mickelson, but lost the playoff.
He also had to settle for second place in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. After
third-place finishes in the Portugal Masters and the Mercedes-Benz Championship, together
with top-10 places in the British Masters, The Dubai Desert Classic, The Celtic Manor
Wales Open and the Johnnie Walker Championship, he rocketed up the European moneylist,
finishing in sixth place with more than 1.9 million Euros.
On his first visit to the Gary Player Country Club, Fisher will relish playing a course
that demands length and accuracy off the tee, as he is recognised as one of the finest
drivers on Tour. This he demonstrated during the US Open this year at the fearsome
Bethpage Black course, where even after some indifferent putting, he eventually finished
fifth.
But it was at Turnberry that Ross Fisher produced his finest performance of the year,
but failed to reap the reward he deserved. After a solid eighth-place finish in the
Scottish Open, he said he was feeling very good about his game leading up to the Open
Championship, and early in the final round it seemed that Fisher might well run away with
the famed claret jug. “Would I have changed any decisions I made during that final
round? No,” he says, referring to a disastrous “snowman” on his card which
put paid to his chances. “But after having a two or three shot lead after two holes,
and then to finish four shots adrift in 13th place was obviously disappointing.”
The 29-year-old cannot be disappointed with the way he played the big events this year,
and in fact his combined score in the four majors was better than any other player in the
world. Together with a runners-up spot in the BMW European PGA Championship, and his
fourth place in the WGC-Accenture Match-play, he has established himself as a very serious
contender, and it will not be surprising to see him challenge strongly for the biggest
prize in golf on the African continent. | 
