Five successive top-10 finishes have brought Oliver Fisher back from the wilderness, but to stay a European Tour regular this season the 21-year-old needs to keep the run going at the Spanish Open this week.

After a nightmare 2009 in which he missed 21 halfway cuts, lost his Tour card and then failed to survive the qualifying school, the Essex youngster has at last begun to head in the right direction again. Coach Pete Cowen, the man who helped Lee Westwood climb from outside the world’s top 250 to his current fourth spot, believes Fisher has the talent to go a lot higher than his current 189th.

But the big problem this year is how many chances he will get on the main circuit. “Because he didn’t make it through the school Ollie stays down the rankings this season and so isn’t guaranteed a start every week,” said Cowen.

It was only when he tied for fourth in Korea on Sunday that Fisher knew he had a spot in Seville under the rule that sees the top-10 finishers qualify for the following week’s tournament.

But he is not yet in the field for next week’s Italian Open and so it goes on.

Eighth in India, third in Kenya, second in Madeira and seventh in China in his four previous events show two things – Fisher has been clocking up the air miles, but he has also made it very worthwhile.

With over £230,000 banked he has probably done enough already to be sure of a full return to the circuit next year.

“At the start of the year I would have taken that,” said the player who in 2005 aged just 16 became the youngest Walker Cup cap. “Hopefully I can set some different goals now. I know the standard that I can play.

“It was a frustrating year for me last year, but it was just a matter of keep grinding it out and not giving up.”

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Source

CNN have interviewed Oliver for their “Living Golf” show (see below for times)

Says CNN “20-year-old Oliver Fisher has been regarded as a hot prospect in the golfing community ever since Nick Faldo nurtured him in his early teenage years. Now a professional on the European Tour, Fisher is considered to be one of Europe’s top hopes for the future”

Oliver Fisher's early days

Chatting with Ollie’s father, Rupert; “From the time he was two or three and started picking up plastic golf clubs he always had a very natural golf swing, so it was very easy to develop from that stage with proper coaching,” he told CNN.

It’s true that Ollie’s parents have showed tremendous support for his golf career, Rupert even spent the first season on tour with young Oliver as his caddie.
It was Rupert who introduced Oliver to the sport at a very young age, swinging a club for the first time aged just two, and joining his local golf club at the age of eight, within 12 months of that he met Chris Jenkins who remains his coach to this day.

“Guys of Ollie’s age have learnt so much from the Tiger era,” Rupert Fisher continued. “When you look at players like Tiger, he is the ultimate role model and you can only try to do what they do.”
Making the leap from amateur to pro can be a difficult step. As Rupert put it, “natural talent just won’t get you there.”

“It’s totally different from an amateur, because the season as a professional is a lot longer,” Oliver said. “I definitely work as hard as a pro as I did when I was an amateur, just for the fact that I’ve got more time to work at. It is better though, and I like it.”

Since gaining the winning score in Andulucia almost a year ago, and missing out in a playoff with Thomas Levet, the win still eludes Oliver.
Levet told reporters following the playoff: “He’s one of the best guys I’ve played with, including Tiger Woods and Nick Faldo.” Sky Sports golf expert Tim Barter said: “He is a young man who has got the whole package… and he will win golf tournaments.” Fisher’s coach Chris Jenkins told Sky Sports News: “I really do believe he can compete with Tiger and become world number one.”

“If I keep improving on the way I am hopefully I can be in the top 50 in the world and competing for Majors and winning tournaments in the next year or so.” said Oliver.

Watch CNN’s Living Golf in February :
ALL TIMES GMT
Thursday, February 5: 1400, 1830
Saturday, February 7: 0800, 1830
Sunday, February 8: 0400, 0830, 1430

FACTS : Oliver Fisher’s rise up the ranks of golf has been quite staggering. In 2003, he won the first of three consecutive titles at the Faldo Series, a development programme for young golfers; in 2005, at 16, he became the youngest player ever to play in the Walker Cup; and, in 2006, his fifth-place finish at the European Tour Qualifying School enabled him to become the youngest Briton ever to win his card for the European Tour.

Furthermore, had the Frenchman Thomas Levet not outmuscled him in an Open de Andalucia play-off in March, we’d be talking to an 18-year-old with a first Tour victory under his belt.
Yes, it’s been quite a start…

Oliver, tell us how you got into golf…
“When I was small, my father used to take me round the golf course, where I’d sit and watch him practise. I guess I started swinging a club when I was about two, and then I joined a club at about eight – that was when Dad thought I was mature enough to understand the etiquette of golf. I think my first county match was when I was 11, and then I would practise after school and in my holidays. I played other sports – rugby and football – but I never really wanted to go professional in those. I just always wanted to be a golfer.”

We guess it beats a nine-to-five job.
“It’s nice to be doing something I enjoy doing I can go out and play golf without thinking of it as a job. I just enjoy playing, really – and I actually like the pressure.”

Your dad caddied for you during your first year as a pro. How did that work out?
“It was great, because I have a really good relationship with him. I’m very lucky – he’s never really said to me: ‘You’ve got to do this.’ He’s a good golfer himself, and he knows my game better than anyone else.”

Have you been surprised by the speed of your rise to the top?
“Not really, it was always something I wanted to do. I grew up with Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia and Luke Donald as my idols, and I’ve always wanted to be a pro golfer. The first time I went to Tour School I got my card, so it couldn’t have happened any better. I always work really hard at what I do, though, and put the time and effort in. If you work hard enough, things will start happening.”

What has it been like teeing off with some of the world’s best golfers?
“In my third tournament as a pro – Abu Dhabi in 2007 – I played with Paul Casey in the third round. He went on to win and I finished 50th, but it was really interesting because it was the first time I had played with a big name. Yeah, it was a bit daunting, but it’s something you have to learn from. I’m used to it now.”

How did it feel to just miss out on your first Tour win, in Andalucia in March?
“Well, it’s the first time I’d been in contention as a professional. I mean, Levet and I finished on a tie, and I lost the play-off. I see at it as more of a positive than a negative.”

And then Levet compared you to Nick Faldo…
“Yeah, that’s a great compliment coming from Levet. I know Nick really well, actually, through the Faldo Series. He’s pretty much Britain’s most successful sportsman, isn’t he? He dominated the game for so long, so it’s great to be compared to a guy like that.”

You must have got a big cheque for second in Andalucia – what did you spend it on?
“Well, I bought a flat, which is being redone at the moment. Oh, and I bought my sister a car when she passed her driving test.”

What are your targets for this season?
“I really want to grab that win, you know. I want to win an event and then finish in the top 60 of the Order of Merit. That’d be great for this year. If I can do that, I’ll be heading the right way. It’s only my second year, so that would be a really successful season.”

Finally, what do you do in your spare time?
“Chill out and do track days driving Formula BMW cars. It’s cool – they’re pretty quick!”

Interview with Oliver Fisher was conducted by Sport-Magazine.co.uk July 2008