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COMES OF AGE Oliver Fisher hit the headlines this autumn when becoming the first player to break the magic 60 barrier on the European Tour, but life hasn’t been a bed of roses for the young man who was tipped for greatness when he turned pro 13 years ago WORDS BY NICK BAYLY PHOTOGRAPHY GETTY IMAGES
A ■ OLIVER FISHER WITH HIS FIANCÉ PAIGE
fter 46 years, and over 690,000 rounds of golf, the European Tour finally has its Mr 59 - Oliver James Fisher. The 30-year-old from Essex broke the barrier in the second round of September’s Portugal Masters, carding ten birdies and an eagle in a stunning 12-under-par effort that will go down in European Tour folklore. There had previously been 19 rounds of 60 on the European Tour, starting with David Llewellyn in 1988, and with the most recent coming from Brandon Stone at this year’s Scottish Open, but none had managed to break through to the magical fifties. That the heroic feat should have fallen to Fisher, who, aged 30, with just one tour win to his name – and a current world ranking of 265 – shows the fine line that divides those who toil away in the middivision of professional golf and those who float along in the rarefied atmosphere of the world’s top 50. Although blessed with a rare talent, Fisher has certainly had to toil to earn his spot in golfing history. When he turned pro in 2006, at the almost ridiculously young age of 17, he seemed to have the golfing world at his feet. In claiming fifth place at that year’s European Tour Qualifying School – where he played as an amateur – he became the youngest British player to ever win a card to play on Europe’s elite tour. Unable to buy a beer and probably not in possession of a razor, let alone a driving licence, Fisher was precociousness personified. Coached by Crowlands Heath’s club professional Chris Jenkins since the age of nine, Fisher had star quality stamped on him from the moment he lifted his first cutdown driver. Representing his club (West Essex), county (Essex), and country (England) at all levels, the Chingford-born youngster rose to wider fame when winning the Faldo Series Final in three consecutive years from 2003-2005, bringing himself to the attention of the six-time major winner in no uncertain fashion, and in the process cementing a relationship that has carried on to this day. After winning the Essex Men’s Amateur in 2004, aged
15, the following year Fisher became the youngest ever Walker Cup player, where he went unbeaten in his two singles matches in a narrow 12.5-11.5 defeat for GB&I. As soon as he walked off the course at THERE HAD Chicago Golf Club, the battle between the equipment PREVIOUSLY BEEN companies to sign him to a professional contract began. That particular race was won by Nike, which, 19 ROUNDS OF 60 ON THE EUROPEAN like Fisher, was only just establishing itself in the golfing world. Having a young and talented British TOUR, STARTING player on its books was a key part of its marketing WITH DAVID drive in Europe. Little did he, or Nike, know that it LLEWELLYN IN would be a full five years before his immense ability 1988, AND WITH would turn itself into a winning formula. THE MOST RECENT Fisher’s first full season on tour in 2007 was a COMING FROM tough challenge, but one he rose to admirably, BRANDON STONE finishing a respectable 76th in the Order of Merit. Jetting all over the world in search of starts took its AT THIS YEAR’S toll, but it was all money in the mental bank, if not SCOTTISH OPEN the one on the high street. The following season he began to turn that promise into results, and came agonisingly close to claiming his first victory at the Open de Andalucia. After tying the lead with Thomas Levet over 72 holes, the pair went into a sudden play-off. Fisher chose to hit what he hoped would be a conservative 3-iron off the tee on the dangerous 18th hole, which featured water down the right-hand side – but the adrenalin coursing through his veins led him to flush it off the middle, and he watched in horror as the ball bounced through the fairway and into the lake. The wily Levet took advantage to claim his umpteenth career title, while
