Fisher lands title with calm finish

GOLF IRISH OPEN:THE PERFORMANCE was one of authority, bordering on the aristocratic. Even as the roars drifting back from up ahead let him know that a certain three-time Major champion was doing his utmost to stem the foreign invasion, Ross Fisher stuck gamely and brilliantly to his task to lay claim to the 3 Irish Open over the Killeen course hard by Lough Leane yesterday as a final round 65 for 266, 18-under-par, ultimately gave him a two-stroke winning margin over Pádraig Harrington.

On yet another day when the crowds flocked to the see the coronation of the latest Irish Open champion – the final attendance of 25,673 brought the total crowd numbers to 81,738 over the four days – Fisher, who’d held the lead since his imperious 61 in Friday’s second round, finished the job in both style and with grit as he claimed the €500,000 winner’s cheque and moved into an automatic Ryder Cup spot in the latest standings.

Fisher needed to be at his best, as a host of challengers – chiefly Harrington, but also Gonzalo Fernandez Castano, Chris Wood and Richard Green – applied pressure to ensure the Englishman had to stay focused to the death.

Indeed, that resilience was severely tested on the 17th, where the pin was located on a vicious slope, when he was forced to hole a clutch putt from six feet for a par which finally gave Fisher some breathing space for the walk up the 18th fairway.

“I guess I’ve just been very, very lucky to be born with a strong mental attitude,” said Fisher of how he coped so manfully with the pressure. “I approach things very calmly. I think it helps massively with Wobbly (his caddie, Phil Morbey) on the bag. He was tremendous, kept me calm, kept me relaxed. You know, one shot at a time.”

In fact, it seemed Fisher’s sole bogey – on the third – had a stimulating effect. At that stage, others had made inroads, with Harrington birdieing four of his opening eight holes, while Green, who started with three successive birdies, and Castano were also chipping away.

Fisher’s response to that bogey was to hit back and each significant putt was accompanied by a fisted punch into the air. There would be five birdies and an eagle by the time he got to savour the crowd’s acclamation.

On a still day which encouraged low scoring, with Scotland’s Richard Ramsay’s closing-round 64 providing proof to those later starters with pretensions to the crown that the course was dispensing favours, the scene was perfectly set for a final day shoot-out.

And, indeed, the roars – with Harrington’s efforts generating huge support from galleries who also gave fitting verbal tribute to Fisher – provided confirmation this was an Irish Open with meaning for both players and spectators.

Fisher’s eagle on the 513-yards par five seventh really kick-started his round. It came at a time when Harrington – two pairings in front – had edged a stroke ahead.

But the 30-footer for eagle brought Fisher back to 14-under for the tournament – two under on his round – to regain the initiative, and a 20-footer for birdie on the ninth, followed by a tee shot to four feet for another birdie on the 10th, gave the Englishman a purple patch around the turn which was to prove vitally important.

Up ahead, Harrington had the bit between his teeth. A 12-footer from the Dubliner on the 15th was followed by an 18-footer for eagle that put the cat amongst the pigeons.

In fairness to Fisher, he kept cool and calm.

“You knew the cheers were for Paddy and I knew he was going to push me all the way,” admitted Fisher, who reeled off four successive pars from the 11th and, then, reacted to Harrington’s charge by birdieing both the 15th and 16th.

The 17th had been identified by Rory McIlroy before the tournament as potentially where the tournament would be won or lost. Fisher played it perfectly from tee to green, but then put pressure on himself with a slick first putt that ran six feet by the hole.

“I gave myself too much work to do on 17, (holing the putt) was obviously crucial.”

In claiming his fourth PGA European Tour title, Fisher extended his run of consecutive winning years on tour to four and passed the €1 million mark on the Order of Merit for the third successive season.

The win, his first since the Volvo World Matchplay Championship last November, moved Fisher back into an automatic place for the Ryder Cup as the points race reaches its final stages.

“That (the Ryder Cup) was one of my goals at the start of the season. My golf’s been good, but results hadn’t been so good so far this season. I was very disappointed with my performance at the (British) Open. I felt I gave myself a chance which didn’t come through. I knew this was coming. I knew I was playing well enough. It was just a case of biding my time,” he said.

For Fisher, the victory gives added impetus to the next two weeks when he competes in the Bridgestone Invitational and the US PGA.

“This is the first big week of three in a row for me. I want to go out there and prove that this wasn’t a fluke. I want to go out there and try and contend the next two weeks if I can.”

On this evidence, you’d expect him to.