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PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

August 14, 2009

Ross Fisher

CHASKA, MINNESOTA

Q. Ross, just give us your thoughts on that day, it was a good day up to the end, but you're still in a good position.
ROSS FISHER: Yeah, obviously, in some ways disappointed, but overall delighted. I felt like I hit the ball fantastically well today.
You know, I didn't think I could hit it better than I did yesterday, but I think I did that today. You know, I was hitting fairways, I was hitting greens, and fortunately I did about a half hour's putting last night and seemed to have found something, and I saw the ball rolling into the hole a few times. It was very pleasing. But at the same time, you know, to finish bogey-bogey always leaves a little bit of a sour taste for dinner tonight, but you know, I'm still in there with a good shout with 36 to go.

Q. It was the putting that held you back a little bit in Akron, and first round here, you should be pleased with that.
ROSS FISHER: Definitely. Akron I felt like I hit the ball really good off the tee and I think I was well up there in greens in regulation. But you know, I think it was a field of 80-odd and I was about 72nd in putting and that's not going to cut it in this caliber of field.
You know, you look at who won last week, Tiger; he was hitting fairways, hitting greens and that boy can putt. That's the name of the game. And fortunately I managed to hole some putts today and hopefully I can continue that trend for two more days.

Q. You seemed to be very good at putting distractions out of your mind, like at the Open; was it more stressful at the Open knowing that you might have to go?
ROSS FISHER: Yeah, I think the Open was a lot more stressful because you know, at any moment, I could have got the phone call saying, Jo was going into labor. So I was always on kind of tentative, shall we say, and fortunately she managed to hold on, and unfortunately I didn't manage to do the same.
I managed to get all four days in and to be honest, one bad swing kind of cost me a really good chance at the Open. You know, after that, I put it behind me and I played ten really good holes and I had eight birdie putts out there. You know, I thought I would hole a few putts coming in off that back nine, I could have been in that playoff, but I wasn't, and 13th was the best that I could do. So that gave me a lot of confidence.
But you know, this week's a lot easier. Still difficult, because I only got to spend six days at home with Jo and Eve, but looking forward to two more days here and then I'll get home and have three weeks at home.

Q. Are you able to keep in regular touch with the time difference?
ROSS FISHER: Yeah, (looking down at watch), it's quarter past 11 or so now, so she'll probably be feeding before she goes to bed. So hopefully I'll try to get out of here and give her a quick ring before she goes to bed, and it will hopefully be a nicer conversation knowing that I've done well. It's been disappointing conversations because there's not been much to talk about; I haven't got my name up in lights, but it's getting there. So hopefully I can call the family at home proud on the next two days.

Q. Overall it's been a good time for you with the family developments and the way you've been playing lately, a time in your life that you need to just kind of finish it off.
ROSS FISHER: Yeah, definitely, major championships is where every golfer wants to be. You know, this is what we dream of playing in ever since you're a kid, and you know, I'm no different. I want to go out there and perform not only for myself, but at the same time I want to give the fans something to shout about. And come that back stretch, I managed to hole a few putts; and the one on 16 there, an ovation like that was pretty special.
Hopefully I can continue that and strike the ball as well as I have been the first two days, and hopefully continue the trend on the greens and hole some putts; and all I can ask for is to give myself a chance Sunday afternoon.

Q. Was it instantly that you were able to put your disappointment at the Open behind you, and how much has your performance overall in the majors this year made you increase your confidence going into a major?
ROSS FISHER: The Open, it's history. Like I say, one bad swing on that 5th hole kind of cost me a good chance at the Open. But you know, that's golf. Slightly miss-hit a 2-iron and apart from that, I felt like I tried to do everything possible to get it back into play, and 8 was the best I could do.
So after that, I was within two or three of the lead. The bogey at 7 and 8 was disappointing, but like I said before, I played ten really solid holes, and I had eight birdie putts at 10. It was still a great week. I was fortunate to play all four days.
I didn't think I was going to get that chance because of Jo, but it was disappointing. But to finish 13th in a major championship is still a good performance. And like you say, the Masters was my first experience. Got myself up in lights at the start, and finished pretty good and finished I think 30th, U.S. Open was obviously a huge steppingstone for me. Gave me a lot of confidence and self-belief knowing that I could mix it with the best and felt like I had a good chance of winning that. And obviously that continued at the Open, and now I'm here this week and I'm trying to do the same as what I have in the previous three majors.

Q. And have those experiences increased your confidence?
ROSS FISHER: Definitely. Any time you can put yourself in contention, it's going to give me confidence and self-belief. I'm a hugely confident person. I know what I'm capable of doing, and it's finally starting to show.
That round today should have really been 6- , 7-, 8-under, but unfortunately a few slip-ups and a couple of missed putts here; but you know, overall, it's looking good. Like I say, I'm feeling happy with myself and my game. Just looking forward to getting out there Saturday and Sunday and putting in two more good performances.

Q. When you got to 5-under, were you aware that you were sharing the lead with Tiger?
ROSS FISHER: Yeah, I had a little look and thought, come on, let's nick a couple more. Unfortunately didn't manage to do that but []it was great to see my name up on the board. And it's early days; it's only Friday. Hopefully see my name on the board Sunday afternoon.

Q. How much tougher did the course play with the wind?
ROSS FISHER: It played very tough. You know, some of the holes into the wind, like 12, I thought I could hit a really good drive there, and I think I flushed a rescue in there and thought it was perfect. If anything, I thought it was coming up short and actually hit through the green. But it's very tricky. Holes that you get a cross-wind, trying to pick whether it's helping or hurting, is tricky, and you're playing into firm, fast greens.
So you need to control your ball flight out there today and fortunately I felt like I did that pretty well.

Q. Do you feel like your game is best suited to majors, and why?
ROSS FISHER: I don't know. I feel like my game could be suited to anywhere. I feel like I'm pretty good at adapting to golf courses. You know, for me, the longer the better. And even if it's long and tight, that kind of helps me because I feel like I'm hitting it pretty long, and I feel like I'm pretty straight with the driver.
So you know, whether major championships suit me or not, I don't know, because this is only my first year as playing all four in a year.

Q. Pretty good debut, though.
ROSS FISHER: It's not a bad debut. It would be sweet if I could play two more solid rounds out there on the weekend. I've had a Top-10, a Top-15 and a Top-30; so it would be nice to maybe sneak a win in there. But all I want to do is give myself a chance on Sunday.

Q. Are you a scoreboard watcher? Were you watching yourself rise and watching Harrington go down?
ROSS FISHER: Yeah, I watched a little bit. It's good to see how the guys are doing. Obviously I saw that Tiger and Harrington weren't going really, really deep, so that obviously helps guys like myself and other guys to try to climb back up the leaderboard, and it kind of inspires you and gives myself -- I can get a real kick out of it, seeing my name up there. I want to see it gradually creep up towards the top. I managed to do that, but unfortunately two slip-ups kind of cost me.
But overall, my name will be on that leaderboard and inside the Top-10 hopefully at the end of play today.

Q. Feels like the Tiger's got the tournament there and it's a question of whether anybody can stay with him, and obviously Harrington did for a while and has fallen back, and you were there and you fell back. Is it difficult for players; is there something about him that players fall back and they just can't stay with him?
ROSS FISHER: I mean, yes, Tiger is the greatest golfer I think we've ever seen, but at the end of the day, he's just like me and you. He's just a human being. He just happens to be damn good at golf. So we've got to work really, really hard to try and compete with him and catch him.
I've been fortunate enough to play with him once in Dubai in the final round and I went toe-to-toe with him. I wasn't fazed by it at all, and I wanted to go out there and prove to everyone that I belong out here.
So you know, it would be great to be paired with Tiger on Sunday, you know, whether it be one are the final groups or not, that would be fantastic.
You know, personally I'd love the challenge. You know, what better way to test yourself than playing against the best player in the world by a country mile. That will show you where your game is at. So right now, my game is in really, really good shape and hopefully that challenge could come tomorrow Sunday.

Q. What is the particular challenge when you're going toe-to-toe with Tiger over the final 18 holes?
ROSS FISHER: There's only one challenge. You've just got to beat the guy. You've got to go head-to-head with him and you've got to get the ball around in less strokes than him, simple as that.
Like I say, he's a phenomenal golfer, he's been world No. 1 for done key's years now, I'm sure Jack's record is going to go very, very soon. You know, hopefully he won't sneak this major, and fingers crossed, it will be me, or a European; that would be very, very nice.

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