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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