Fisher beats the rain

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June 20, 2009

Ross Fisher beat the New York rainstorms to claim a top-10 place on the US Open leaderboard at Bethpage Black.

Ross Fisher beat the New York rainstorms to claim a top-10 place on the US Open leaderboard and now the Englishman believes he can conquer the field at Bethpage Black.
Fisher completed his first two rounds in New York at two under par, six shots behind clubhouse leader Ricky Barnes of the United States and just as importantly the 28-year-old dodged the worst of the conditions.
His first round, a level-par 70, got under way late in the morning on Friday, when the sun shone after a day of heavy rain had caused havoc for the early starters.
Fisher then went straight back out to complete 10 holes of his second round before returning on Saturday morning to card a 68 to leave him right in the mix before a return of the storms on Long Island threatened to undermine the other side of the draw for the third day in a row.
That makes Fisher, a runner-up behind Paul Casey at Wentworth last month in the BMW PGA Championship, very confident he is in a position to to compete for a first major championship.
“I am coming here with the firm belief that I can win the tournament,” Fisher said.
“I feel ready to win a major. I have won twice and should have won a number of times more than that because I have been in position then failed at the closing stretch.
“I played the US Open last year and that was a good experience and then I have played the US PGA, a couple of Opens and then the Masters this year and that was great experience to get in the lead the first day then shoot a couple of decent scores and finishing in the top 30.
“I feel like my game is ready to compete and I am ready to get into contention come Sunday.”
Fisher admitted his name could have been even higher up the leaderboard had he made even more of the favourable conditions he was dealt.
“Two under is a decent start for the first two days but I do feel that it is the worst that it could be.
“The way I played yesterday at points, it could have been five or six under easily if I had holed a few more putts.
“I just couldn’t get the putter going and couldn’t get the ball to drop. I just couldn’t keep the momentum going fully into the second round.”
Fisher recognised his fortune in getting the best of the weather.
“It’s a long week at the US Open and it’s tough, although it’s maybe as easy as it could possibly be at the US Open.
“The guys in the other side of the draw have had the bad side, no doubt about it.
“Yes we had to play 28 holes or something yesterday but the guys in the other side had to play in that horrific weather. When you get that kind of break you need to take advantage and I almost did that.”
Not that he feels too sorry for his rivals on the other side of the draw.
“That’s golf,” he said. “I have had my fair share of good and bad.
“You never wish people to get on the bad side of the draw but that’s what has happened, but at the same time I have to look at it from my perspective and I want to take advantage and make it as difficult as possible for them to catch up.”