GOLF WORLD MATCHPLAY CHAMPIONSHIP:ROSS FISHER reminded everyone why he might be England's brightest major championship prospect when he clinched the Volvo World Matchplay title with an impressive 4 and 3 victory over American Ryder Cup star Anthony Kim yesterday.
Not only did he lift the €750,000 top prize to move to fourth in the Race to Dubai, he also lifted a huge weight off his shoulders with a victory that could prove to be a major stepping stone in every sense.
Very much golf’s nearly-man in this season’s majors and without a win for 16 months, Fisher has fallen over his shoelaces with the finishing line in sight a few times this year.
As PG Wodehouse once put it: “Unseen, in the background, Fate was quietly slipping the lead into the boxing glove.”
This time there was no repeat of his US Open disappointment, where he finished fifth at Bethpage Black after a luckless week on the greens.
Nor was there a lead-filled boxing glove in the shape of the fifth at Turnberry, where he took a quadruple-bogey eight when leading in the final round of this year’s British Open.
Instead, it’s very much a feel-good story for the 28-year-old plumber’s son. And, in beating Kim (24), arguably the most talented and self-confident of the current crop of American players, he proved to himself that he can get the job done under pressure.
“What happened in the majors still stings a little bit,” he confessed after a win in which he led from the time he birdied the first hole and made just one bogey in 33 holes.
“I led all four at one point and could quite easily have won three majors if things had gone my way. If it was meant to be, it would have happened. But these things happen for a reason and I am a great believer in that.”
One up through the first 18 holes after a bogey-free 67 in the morning, he remained aggressive and eagled the driveable 22nd from 40 feet, then birdied the 23rd to go three up after Kim’s drive had finished behind a large rock.
The American was not the same player who had destroyed Robert Allenby 5 and 3 in a “grudge” semi-final, and while he birdied the short 24th to cut the deficit to two holes with 12 to go, his normally deadly putting stroke abandoned him and Fisher holed virtually everything he needed to.
Not only did Kim hand Fisher halves by three-putting the 25th and the 26th, he went three down when he fluffed a chip to lose the 28th, lost the 32nd to a birdie and shook hands at the next when the Englishman holed a testing five-footer.
“Ross played great,” Kim said. “I obviously made a couple of mistakes. I felt like I gave him one on the eighth and I gave him one on the seventh. Really that was the turning point there.”
Fisher respects Kim and feared his putting stroke. But he doesn’t mind the American’s larger-than-life persona.
“He’s got a bit of a swagger, but that’s his personality,” Fisher said. “That’s Anthony. Obviously when he holes a putt, he celebrates quite big. But if it gees you up, I’m all for that. I just stay nice and relaxed and go about my business, and obviously I managed to do that quite well today.”
Rory McIlroy should not feel too discouraged by his five-hole loss to Angel Cabrera on Thursday.
Allenby beat the Argentinian to claim third place, but he needed a hole-in-one at the sixth to stay in touch, a birdie at the 18th to force sudden death and an 18-footer for eagle at the 19th to win the €250,000 third prize. He was 10 under par for the 19 holes played.
Cabrera picked up €200,000, but confirmed he will not be competing in this week’s HSBC Champions in Shanghai and therefore will not play enough events to qualify for the season-ending Dubai World Championship.
That’s good news for Ireland’s Gary Murphy, who will move one place closer to the top-115 who retain their cards after a missed cut in the Singapore Open relegated him to 126th in the money list with just three weeks of the season to go.
Final Day Results
At Finca Cortesin GC, Casares, Spain
Seeded positions in brackets
SUNDAY
Final
(10) Ross Fisher (Eng) bt
(9) Anthony Kim (US) 4 and 3
Third place play-off
(12) Robert Allenby (Aus) bt
(11) Angel Cabrera (Arg) at 19th
SATURDAY
Semi-finals
Kim bt Allenby 5 and 4
Fisher bt Cabrera at 39th
