Fisher Destined for Greatness

Oliver Fisher can be golf’s world number one in the future, according to his coach Chris Jenkins.

The nineteen-year-old narrowly missed out on his first European Tour victory at the Andalucia Open three weeks ago, losing to Thomas Levet in a play-off.

After the event, the Frenchman spoke highly of Fisher, and even compared him to current world number one Tiger Woods.

And Jenkins believes Fisher can replace Woods at the top of world golf:

“Tiger can’t go on forever. Someone will have to be the next world number one. Ollie is in a different era to Tiger, so I don’t see any reason why it can’t be Ollie.”

Fisher was looking to make history in Spain by becoming only the second British teenager to win on the European Tour.

Had he won the event, he would have also become the fifth youngest winner in the tour’s history.

And he came so close. Fisher was three shots in front with six holes to play, but struggled on the latter holes, allowing Levet to clinch the title.

The Essex-born golfer has made a big impression on the professional circuit, and his coach will take some credit for this.

Jenkins first started coaching Fisher as a nine-year-old. The pair met at Warren Park Golf Centre in Chadwell Heath, Essex. Jenkins offered Fisher a free video analysis, and has been coaching him ever since.

Jenkins was immediately aware that Fisher had a natural talent:

“He was certainly much better than any other nine-year-old that I was coaching at the time, or had seen before. I suppose you could say that it was evident that he was going to be as good as he is now, but you can never tell. I haven’t seen a better nine-year-old since.”

Fisher came through the ranks as a member of Team Faldo, a mentorship programme that helps find and care for the next generation of golfing champions in Europe.

He has won Faldo Junior Series events and is still the youngest golfer ever to play in the Walker Cup.

And his coach believes that he can set an example for younger generations:

“There are more youngsters coming through, but they need a role model. A young trendy guy like Ollie could be a great person to help them come forward. He can be that someone to look up to and try and emulate.”

He was also keen to point out that Fisher is still only nineteen, and that there is still a lot of room for improvement and natural development. A scary thought.

Jenkins was asked when that next time an Englishman would win a major.

“Who knows? I’m not sure if any Englishmen at the moment could win a major, but certainly the new generation of young kids coming through have a good opportunity, and may well be able to achieve it,” he replied.

Fisher is a life-long member of West Essex Golf Club in Chingford. Another member there, Alex Stavri, explained how Fisher was always destined for greater things:

“I was aware of Ollie’s talent the moment I joined, as other members were always watching and talking about him. His talent was obvious, but he earned it by practicing more than anyone else I have ever seen. Since a very young age, all he did was practice.

“I have played a few rounds with him and quite frankly he’s amazing. His length and accuracy are machine like.”

Image from Chris Jenkins Golf

Ollie Fisher: England's answer to Tiger Woods? Vote on my poll.

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Faldo's work is paying off

English golfing great Nick Faldo can take a lot of credit for Oliver Fisher’s rise to stardom.

Fisher progressed through the ranks of Faldo’s mentorship programme Team Faldo, a concept that aims to identify and nurture the next generation of golfing champions.

After winning his last Masters in 1996, Faldo was posed the question where the next Nick Faldo was coming from. At the time, Lee Westwood was one of the only English golfers ranked inside the top 100 in the world.

With the golfing heritage in this country, Faldo knew this was unacceptable. That is why, in 1996, he established the Faldo Series.

Kerry McDonald, Director of the Faldo Series Europe, explained Faldo’s vision:

“Nick set about trying to put in place a programme that combines top quality competition on world class courses, that test every aspect of a good golfer’s game and help prepare them for tough golf courses that you would face in the professional world.

“He also felt that it was vital that these guys understood that to be a professional golfer these days, you need to be better prepared than ever before. You need to be mentally strong, physically strong, know about diet and nutrition, and also know about the business side of golf.

“All of these aspects are rolled into the Faldo Series ethos, which are really about professional development and about these guys gaining a better understanding on what is required to reach the next level.”

Fisher performed very well in the Faldo Series, and was named Faldo Series champion in successive years in 2004 and 2005.

The Essex-born teenager was hand picked by Faldo in 2003, and soon became a member of Team Faldo. It was here, where Fisher received invaluable advice and support from arguably one of the world’s greatest ever golfers.

And McDonald always knew Fisher was going to be a success:

“I am often asked the question what sets Oliver Fisher apart from a lot of top young amateur golfers out there. And it’s hunger, it’s desire, and it’s the ability to want to know more and to learn.

“One of Ollie’s greatest assets is his ability to absorb information and process it in order of what he feels he needs. Ollie has done that, in my opinion, very successfully with Nick. He was always asking questions and being inquisitive.”

But McDonald played down comparisons between Fisher and Faldo. He said: “I’m sure Oliver Fisher wants to be the next Oliver Fisher. He doesn’t want to be the next Nick Faldo.

“Oliver Fisher is going to be a very good golfer. Will he be Britain’s next major winner? There is a very good chance if he develops. He just needs to keep pushing on and performing.”

The Faldo Series also aims to combat many of the stigmas that are attached to golf, as McDonald expresses:

“It shouldn’t be about where you come from, what colour your skin is or how rich you are. It’s about how good you are or how good you could be, and how good you want to be.

“If we [the Faldo Series] can help try and break down some of the barriers that exist within golf, then I think hopefully golf will become more popular, and we will start to see more players playing regularly and more so at the top end of the pyramid. This will lead to more players competing on the professional circuit.”

One to Watch

Kerry was a little nervous about labelling future stars, but he did mention one outstanding candidate from Team Faldo who is destined for great things: the “phenomenally talented” Carly Booth.

Image from Nickfaldo.com

Oliver Fisher's European Tour

View Larger Map

Here is a map of all the golf events on the PGA European Tour, which Oliver Fisher is competing in.

All the blue flags indicate events that have already been played.
All the green golfers indicate upcoming events.

Click on them for further information.

Men CAN learn from the women's game

After spending far too much time on the sofa over the Easter period, I finally decided to go out and play a round of golf. After a not too shoddy round, I have now got the bug again. I'm counting down the days to the end of term, so I can go and play as much as I want.

I have also started to watch more golf on television. I was watching a women's tour event, and I couldn't help but notice one similarity between their game and mine: distance.

It is no use to me when I sit and watch a men's tournament and the commentator announces that so and so is 150 yards from the green, and he has a nine iron in his hand. I cannot relate to this.

However, I can relate to the distances hit by the women golfers. And there are many people that agree with me. Whilst browsing through a BBC Forum, I came across many people who shared my opinion.

A blog post from The Golf Girl, reveals further ways in which us men can learn from the women's game. She suggests that if men could lose male associated traits such as aggression and risk taking, and replace them with traits linked to women such as empathy and nurturing, then some men could cope better with the demands of golf. To be honest, I have to agree.

Image from JupiterImages

Can 'Tigress Woods' help improve the coverage of the women's game?

As the women's world number one, Lorena Ochoa, takes a one stroke lead into the final day of the first major of the year, comparisons are being drawn between the Mexican and Tiger Woods.

The 26-year-old is looking to secure her third win in four starts on the 2008 LPGA Tour at the Kraft Nabisco Championship in California.

The significant thing about all this is that, finally, women's golf may now have someone who can attract the mass audiences to the women's game. Or can it?

A post from the Golf Blog criticises the lack of coverage of the women's game. Within the post, it shows how the LPGA recaps on a women's event through YouTube. The video is clearly not effective, and has had just under 60 views.

It raises the question whether the women's game will ever earn the coverage that it deserves.

A BBC Forum is alive and kicking on the subject. One comment states that the women's game needs a 'Tigress Woods'.

Here's a post from the Ultimate Golf Blog, which shows that Ochoa could be the Tiger Woods of the women's tour.

If Ochoa continues her good form, maybe television companies would start to cover the women's game in greater depth, to showcase her talents. We will just have to wait and see......

Photo from http://noezbuckets.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/lorena-ochoa.jpg

Monty Misses Out

After missing out on next months Masters in Augusta, Colin Montgomerie has hit back at organisers of the event.

Reports suggest that three Asian players, all of whom are ranked lower than the Scot, have been chosen to play in the event for commercial reasons.

A post from the Hooked On Golf Blog shows little sympathy towards Monty, who is referred to as 'Mrs. Doubtfire'. The writer highlights the importance of the commercial side of the tournament, and that an Asian draw is needed for television audiences.

It will be only the second time in seventeen years that the 44-year-old has missed the Masters.

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