Fisher gunning for US Open spot

Home

bruced
May 19, 2011

Ross Fisher has more than one reason for wanting to successfully defend his Volvo World match Play title this week.

Ross Fisher has more than one reason for wanting to successfully defend his Volvo World Match Play title this week.

The Englishman needs a strong performance to move back into the top 50 and automatically qualify for the US Open next month.

After missing the cut in the Players Championship last week, Fisher dropped from 47th to 51st in the world, and should he not improve on his current ranking this week, he’ll have to play 36 holes at Walton Heath in a little over a week’s time.

Two years ago, Fisher was in contention at the US Open with only a few holes left to play at Bethpage Black, before eventually finishing in fifth place, but in recent times it’s been more of a struggle for the 30-year-old, with only one top-10 finish so far this year.

“Obviously you set your standards very, very high and I’m no different to that,” said the 30-year-old. “If I’m being honest it’s been disappointing so far – not too many results to kind of jump around at.

“At The Masters I gave myself a chance on the weekend, but unfortunately just didn’t quite pull it off.” He finished joint 15th along with Rory McIlroy.

Fisher’s Volvo Match Play victory actually came 18 months ago, as the event was not held last year. With the change in format this season, Fisher is only set to play on Friday, as he is the lowest-ranked player in his three-man group ( the others are Luke Donald and Ryan Moore).

“Whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing I don’t know,” he added. “After missing the cut last week and having a couple of days off I suppose it’s probably a good thing I’ve got an extra day to work hard and get my game in good shape.”

Home