THE EUROPEAN OPEN

July 6, 2008

Ross Fisher

SCOTT CROCKETT: It's been said a few times today, but many, many congratulations, an absolutely fantastic performance; not just today of course, but throughout the whole week, to be under 70 in all four rounds in these conditions and on this golf course is fantastic. Just give us your feeling on being The European Open Champion.
ROSS FISHER: To be honest it probably hasn't really sunk in yet, but all of the commotion on 18, the crowd cheering and obviously all of the photos and the trophy, it's all slightly started to sink in. It's a massive achievement for myself, you know, after winning Holland, that was my first win, you want to try to get the second as quick as possible. Most of the guys say the first one is hard to win and the second one is even harder.
You know, I gave myself some chances. Didn't quite happen. But I don't know, it was just a strange week really. After turning up Wednesday and not playing a practise round to shooting four rounds under 70, just a phenomenal week. And that's all I could really say?
SCOTT CROCKETT: The seven-shot victory, did you ever feel it was easy? It looked very easy for us on the television.
ROSS FISHER: No. Yesterday and today were really testing conditions, to be fair, even Thursday. It was very windy Thursday and was probably about a 20-, 25-yard wind, so it wasn't easy but for some reason I felt an immense sense of calmness inside myself and with my game. I drove the ball perfect all week really. When I missed, fairway, I wasn't having to chop out, maybe a few times over 72 holes, and for a guy that hits it a pretty long ways, is a great achievement.
Yeah, I mean, yesterday was very tricky. It was stronger than Thursday, so to go out and was actually 69 that I shot yesterday, I wanted to go out there and put a good performance in today. I knew it was going to be tough because the weather was never going to be great, it was kind of on off and on off all day, and just try to stay patient really and try to keep things as dry as possible. We had towels and most of the time it really wasn't worth having the umbrella up because the wind was so strong. Just tried to stay patient and believe in my ability, knowing that I was still playing good golf, and obviously going into the final round with a three-shot lead, it was always going to be difficult for the guys behind me to catch me if I played good golf.
And you know, fortunately, went around under par and shot under 70 again. So you know, to win by 7, feels really, really special.

Q. Talk us through the emotion at the end. It was a great way to finish off the tournament.
ROSS FISHER: Yeah, I mean, just wanted to -- I knew I had birdied it all three days and I felt like, come on, let's try and birdie it for a fourth time. I think I was six shots ahead, and you just want to hit a good, committed drive, which I did. To be fair I felt like I had quite a good yardage really for the flag. Hit 6-iron from 191 I think it was and obviously just a little bit pumped. Went a little bit further and knew it was over the green by the crowd's reaction, and then just walking up, Adam said to me, oh, it's probably in the bunker.
I thought, well, that's not such a bad thing and looked at it, and felt like, come on, let's not do anything silly here. Just get it on the green, try and give yourself a ten, 15-footer for a par, and if it trickles to the fringe, maybe just make four or make five and you're still going to win. Just got in the bunker and felt pretty calm and just took it back.
Connection was really good and in the end, I thought, yeah, that looks pretty good if it lands and it seemed to land really soft and trickle on to the green and probably about four or five feet out, I thought, hold on a minute, that's got a chance and obviously to see it hit the flag and disappear and end the tournament like that, that's just what dreams are made of.

Q. What expectations do you have for yourself now after lapping such a quality field?
ROSS FISHER: To be honest I had not really thought about it yet. Probably just going to try to take this one in I think. Didn't really have much of a chance to take the Dutch win in because obviously as golfers, you play one tournament one week and you're off the next week. This week is obviously a little bit different. Don't have to catch a flight thank God, only got to drive 40 minutes up the road, so that's quite nice.
Yeah, I think it just shows me that I can play to the standard that I'm capable of, and just to compete with these guys is what I turn up for week-in, week-out; turn up every week thinking and believing in myself that I can win the golf tournament, but obviously there's a lot of good golfers out there, and so you've got to play to your best.
You know, this week, for some reason, I must have played perfect golf to go this week and have a course record, best round of my life, 63 without seeing the golf course, it just set me off in good stead. You know, to shoot three rounds after that under 70, just going to take a lot from it. And then I have Loch Lomond next week and the open to look forward to.
Fingers crossed, I have this evening and I think I have a flight tomorrow afternoon to Loch Lomond, so probably won't do much Monday. May not even do much Tuesday to be honest. After this I will most likely be in the Pro-Am on Wednesday, which is nice but is also a bit of a shame because I have to go and play. Obviously it's great, but I'm looking forward to the next few weeks.
Obviously Loch Lomond is a massive tournament. Obviously going in there with a massive amount of confidence, and then the one called The Open is the week after. So two good weeks to look forward to.

Q. Taking you back ten years ago when you won the Club Championship at Wentworth, did you ever dream of this sort of thing?
ROSS FISHER: Yeah, you're obviously, you know, ever since I picked up a club when I was three years old, just was hooked on it really. Just wanted to play golf and nothing else really. You know, fortunately, I had gone to Wentworth in '94 and that's basically the background from where my golf has progressed over the years and has put me to where I am today. Without getting on the scholarship, I wouldn't probably be here today.
So I have a massive amount of gratitude and thanks. They have helped me along the way in my amateur career and stuck by me when I turned professional a few years ago. You know, it's a reward now for all of the hard work and practise. To get my first win last year was great, but this is pretty special to get a win at the European Open just up the road from where I grew up and to do it the way I did with four rounds in the 60s and a course record; and to hole a bunker shot on the last, obviously Thursday I holed a bunker shot and it was just a very special week and one that I will remember for a very long time.

Q. Sorry to take you back to Wentworth last year, but you've obviously dealt with it now; did it leave you with massive self-doubt at the time?
ROSS FISHER: Not at all. I put it down to it was one of those days. I played three really good rounds of golf and put myself in position to win a tournament, to win my first one and obviously it being my home event, the flagship event would have made it that much more special. Unfortunately Sunday didn't go my way. Like I said to you earlier in the week, it was just one of those days where whatever I seemed to try, it just didn't come off.
I think after I finished, I left my family and friends in the tented village and after the day I had, I didn't sort of to be fair really feel like sticking around. So I said to Jo, I just want to try and get out of here and put my feet up and just really have a long sit down and just thought, crickey, what just happened. Just try to forget what happened, move on, you know, I'm a very positive person, try the best that I can every single day, and hopefully you'll get something out of that.
So for me, you know, I felt like I learned a lot about myself, my game, my mental strength and attitude towards golf and myself, and obviously to get through the hurdle so quickly after such a disastrous Sunday in Holland, just gave me a tremendous amount of confidence. And obviously I didn't really have that self-doubt like you say, but it got rid of those negative thoughts on the Sunday at Wentworth.

Q. I suppose the one that might have done more damage was the missed chance in China with Phil Mickelson. I mean, how much is this proof positive that you have really sort of stepped up to another level now, given that you had such a great chance there?
ROSS FISHER: Yeah, I think so. I mean, you know, like you say, to putt myself into contention a few times and to see it drift away, obviously Wentworth was such a shame but then obviously I bounced back from that with the wind in Holland, and then put myself into good positions on a few occasions.
Obviously Dubai I had a good chance and a few other tournaments I did well. So I went to obviously HSBC with confidence and it was another course where I turned up quite late and didn't actually get a chance to play; I only played nine holes -- sorry, only walked the front nine and didn't bother walking the back nine, just hit balls and practised on the Wednesday.
So went in there with confidence but to shoot three 68s and to push obviously Mickelson the way I did, was a great achievement. But you know, I still feel like it was one that I threw away and a tournament that I felt I should have won.
People have criticised, you know, for saying, oh, why didn't you lay up, why didn't you do this, why didn't you do that; but at the time I felt, stick to my strengths and if I can hit it on the green, it's my tournament. And it just so happens I ended up in that spot and I tried to play what I thought was the right shot and the club just bounced and obviously the rest is history.
It was bitterly disappointing, but I think, you know, some people seem to forget that I did hole a good 8-footer to get myself in the playoff. After what had gone on, obviously, I had hit it in the water and pitched onto eight feet past and managed to show strength of character and holed an 8- or 10-footer and still gave myself a chance to win. It was still obviously bitterly disappointing, but I took a lot from that. I felt like I played Phil for the two days, I think the scores proved that.
I think I learned a lot from that, just knowing that I can compete and I put myself into position again to win. The more times you put yourself into contention to win, you're eventually going to get one. Obviously that one, it should have been mine, you know, I don't know if it sounds a bit big-headed but I felt like I threw it away and I should have won that tournament.
Obviously it was still disappointing but at the same time it was a great start to the season and obviously I went on from that and had some good performances. You know, just a few errant shots here and a few bad decisions there, obviously Ireland and Germany a few weeks ago, but you know, this feels pretty special. It feels like I've got back to where I belong among the best golfers in the world and hopefully I can take this forwards and put in a good performance next week.

Q. Just wonder if you have a mental coach and if since Shanghai you've spoken to anybody about getting the best out of yourself; you know that you have the talent to do it.
ROSS FISHER: No, I've only ever worked with a couple of people. I worked with Nick Hastings who used to work on Tour. I think it was his last week this week. I think he actually said, oh, it was -- with you is where it all started when myself and a couple of club mates, Chris and Sam, we were sort of the three top amateurs at Wentworth and they wanted to try to get some psychology into it.
So started working a little bit with Nick and obviously being in the English Golf Union, there was a guy there, Brian Hennings, who I did some work with. Always believed that I was quite a strong mentally capable person, and not that I didn't need a mental psychologist. I just, I don't know, I just chose not to have one. I felt like in the Union Team, it was someone there to talk to almost, which is great but it didn't feel like I was -- it just didn't seem like I needed a psychologist or someone to work with, and over the years, I feel like I've developed into a really strong self-believing, really strong mentally person. So at the moment, I'm not looking to go and ask like Jos or any of those guys for help. I feel like I've got a good state of mind and obviously it showed this week, to shoot those scores, and like a few of you have said, blown the field away by seven shots. It just shows that, you know, just to be a positive person and be mentally strong, physically tough; that's what I am right now and that's where I am right now and so far so good.

Q. You said earlier in the tournament about the tired issues coming off of the back of the 36 after Sunningdale, but I understand originally this was not a week that was on your schedule but you changed your mind subsequently. Can you give us some insight into what was the thoughts behind coming here? And presumably now you've got a five-year exemption from winning sitting down and planning your schedule for year-to-year is now a lot easier.
ROSS FISHER: Yeah, definitely, it was obviously this time last year that I qualified for The Open and played a bit of golf and just felt for Loch Lomond and The Open, I needed to give myself the best chance.
Last year I felt I could take Ireland off and recharge the batteries; whereas this year, it's been a pretty grueling schedule, after the three events, Ireland, Wentworth, Wales, making all three cuts; and then going onto play 36, the Monday after, and to qualify at Walton Heath to play the U.S. Open; to then obviously come straight back from the U.S. Open to do Germany and then Paris, it was a busy schedule.
So I did think I could potentially pull out of this one. But then thought to myself myself, it's 40 minutes up the road and maybe just take a few days off here and there, and then obviously thought, well, if I play this one, maybe I'll take Loch Lomond off and just thought, no, you played well last year and you've got the golf course, it suits you, so why not just keep going.
You know, my wife, Jo, said to me, why not just keep going, you're playing well and just keep going and just try and take a few days off if you can and obviously after America, Germany and Paris, decided to -- obviously after Monday was quite a tiring day, almost sort of threw it away but managed to get through, so I thought, well, think about what we're going to do and took Tuesday off, and went to Wimbledon and I was going to play Wednesday early on the shotgun and just thought, I just didn't feel ready.
I still felt a little bit tired, so I thought, take a leisurely drive down and hit a few balls, maybe walk the course, and didn't really feel like walking it. Just wanted to do a bit of work with my coach on the short game, and Christian was here, as well and did a bit of work on the long game so felt like the game was good. Adam said he walked it a few times, so you know, obviously turns out it was a good tournament to play.

Q. Did you have any thoughts --
ROSS FISHER: Not really too sure. I played here in '97 on a junior tour, but I actually played the other course, so I didn't have any ideas on this golf course. Adam said I think he walked it, on Tuesday maybe, and I got a text from him saying it's very bland, it's quite open but got a feeling it could suit you. Obviously to go from Germany, quite a good course for me, a driver's course and went to Paris and didn't even carry driver in the bag. Just put a strong 3-wood and 5-wood in because it was one of those courses where it didn't really suit my game.
So maybe I could have taken it off, but it was one of those events where, how do you take it off when it's one of the big purses that we play for? Just try to put in a good performance and felt like I played pretty decent. Didn't finish great but still feel like my game is in good shape. Obviously look forward to coming here and getting the driver back out and obviously this week, it's worked out tremendous.

Q. What are your plans for the check?
ROSS FISHER: To be honest I'm not sure. Obviously I'll have a sit down and think about it. Just bought a new home and a lot of decorating and stuff to do, which I'm not the best at doing. I don't know, maybe I might treat myself to something, I'm not sure what yet. I don't know, maybe a car or something. But I don't think it's really sort of sunk in yet.
SCOTT CROCKETT: Thanks very much, well done.

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