Accenture Match Play Consolation Finalist: England's Ross Fisher

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Ross Fisher has been one of the tournament surprises with his run to the quarterfinals this week in Marana, Ariz.

Feb. 28, 2009
By PGATOUR.COM Staff

ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY FINAL FOUR: Casey | Cink | Fisher | Ogilvy

When he finished tied for 13th at the Dubai Desert Classic a few weeks ago, Ross Fisher thought his game was rounding into form. Then ... he was snowed under. Literally. For the better part of a week in his home in England, Fisher couldn't even get his car out of the driveway. So much for practice.

A Valentine's trip with his wife (not that he's complaining!) also limited his practice schedule. So, with his lack of practice and the fact he had never participated in the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, it's a bit surprising to see him in the final eight his week in Arizona.

But those who see him play on a regular basis knows he has the game. He almost made the European Ryder Cup team last year, and he's making a bold statement this week for the 2010 squad.

FISHER QUOTE: "It was probably one match too many this morning. Just I wish I would have closed him out a bit earlier so I could have had a little bit of time to relax between games, with Justin. But that's sort of this game. If you win, you play 36. You've just got to be ready for it . And unfortunately I wasn't quite ready for it. I felt like I didn't start great and had a bad first hole."

KEY STAT: Of the 12 first-time participants at the 2009 Accenture Match Play Championship, only Ross Fisher advanced to the Semifinals.

CONSOLATION FINAL OPPONENT: Stewart Cink (Sunday tee time: 1:45 p.m. ET)

How Fisher Reached the Consolation finals

Round 1: Defeated Robert Allenby	1 up
Fisher, playing in his first Accenture Match Play, got off to a shaky start with consecutive bogeys at the fourth and fifth holes. But he calmed down with four birdies in a nine-hole stretch. His birdie at the 15th put him 2 up and despite a bogey on the 17th, he maintained the lead.
Round 2: Defeated Pat Perez	6 and 5
Fisher needed just 13 holes to knock off Perez, winner of the 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer earlier this year. Fisher birdied four of the first eight holes to go up 4 up, then closed out the match with an eagle. For the day he was 6 under for 13 holes. Meanwhile, Perez, after an early birdie, double bogeyed the 5th and could never get back on track. "Fortunately for me, (Perez) was a little bit off today and I was bang on form," Fisher said. "It was quite a sweet victory."
Round 3: Defeated Jim Furyk	5 and 4
Fisher, a two-time winner on the European Tour, continued his somewhat surprising roll. The 28-year-old Brit applied the pressure from the outset and Furyk won only two holes all day. Fisher, meanwhile, made seven birdies and just one bogey in the decisive win that saw him make the turn 3 up. Furyk's two wins came at the two back-nine par 5s, each time to narrow the gap to 2 down. But Fisher closed out the match out with two 5-footers for birdie at Nos. 14 and 15. "My game's been in really, really good shape this week," Fisher said. "I feel like the course suits me very, very well. I just knew I had to come out and play some solid golf."
Round 4: Defeated Justin Leonard	2 and 1
Ross Fisher is still on track to become the first player to win the Accenture Match Play Championship in his debut after Saturday's hard-fought win over Justin Leonard. The Englishman was 7 under for 17 holes while Leonard was 5 under in the well-played match. The American drew first blood with an eagle at the second hole, but Fisher squared the match with a birdie at the seventh hole -- which was the second of three straight as he battled to keep pace with Leonard. Fisher went 1 up when the American conceded the 11th hole after getting into trouble off the tee and won the 12th with yet another birdie. Leonard twice cut the deficit to 1 down, the last with a 5-footer for birdie at the 16th hole. But Fisher closed him out when Leonard missed an 8-footer for birdie at No. 17 and he made his own from 7. "He was too much for me today," Leonard said. "I made a bunch of birdies, though, so I played really well. It would have been nice to have made that putt and gone to the 18th, but hats off to him." Fisher has made 22 birdies in his first four matches while making just four bogeys -- three of which came in the first round. I feel pretty good, said Fisher, a two-time winner on the European Tour. "I am obviously very relieved to get past Justin. Obviously, he is a great competitor, He fought all the way."
Round 5: Lost to Paul Casey	2 and 1
It wasn't pretty, but Paul Casey got the job done -- and he still hasn't trailed in 80 holes of match play this week. Casey won the first hole Saturday afternoon with a par after Fisher found the desert off the tee and went 2 up at the par-3 sixth after both men found the same greenside bunker but only one got up-and-down successfully. Fisher, a two-time winner on the European Tour who was playing in his first Accenture Match Play Championship, narrowed the gap to 1 down at the par-5 eighth, though, with a two-putt birdie from 47 feet. The next six holes were halved before Casey won the 13th with a par 5 after Fisher played ping-pong around the green. The 14th was eminently forgettable for both pros as Casey struggled to escape a fairway bunker, Fisher was snared by the desert beside the green and the hole was eventually halved with double bogeys. The driveable par-4 14th was eminently kinder to the two, though, yielding birdies for halves before Fisher cut into the lead with a 17-footer for a win at No. 16. Casey closed out the match on the next hole with a 15-foot birdie putt after Fisher had missed from 34. "It was ugly at times," Casey acknowledged. "First time this week, I've halved a hole in double bogey. ...But that's golf. Ross did the right thing and ground that hole out. He pushed me all the way. ...He was a tough, tough player and I wish him well tomorrow. He's still got a match to play for a lot of world ranking points and some cash."