 Fisher had his putting to thank for seeing off Kim in Sunday's final |
England's Ross Fisher won the World Match Play Championship by defeating Anthony Kim at the Finca Cortesin course in Casares, southern Spain. He beat the American on the 15th hole of the second round of Sunday's final, winning by a margin of 4&3. After a pinpoint pitch and short putt had won him the 14th, Fisher drove safely on to the 15th fairway. Kim was unable to birdie the tough, long par four, and Fisher had the luxury of two putts for victory. He hit his first putt - from distance - short and left, but confidently nailed the second from five feet, shook hands with Kim and celebrated the victory in muted fashion. For Fisher, 28, fifth in this year's US Open, it was his third win on the European tour, and by some distance his biggest. He pocketed £676,000, with Kim - who interspersed flashes of brilliance with some loose golf that cost him dearly - having to settle for £405,000. Fisher's scoring was excellent on Sunday. He played the opening round, in the morning, in a five-under-par 67 for a one-stroke lead - and was six-under for his second round by the time Kim ran out of holes to launch a fightback.  | IAIN CARTER'S BLOG |
Above all, Fisher outputted his opponent - and a devastating run of birdie, eagle, birdie between the third and fifth holes of the afternoon gave him comfortable breathing space at three-up. Fisher remained relentlessly ruthless with his putter over the last few holes, giving Kim - who was seven-under for the 33 holes played - little opportunity to put any pressure on him. The man from Surrey said: "It's been a long, gruelling week. Anthony Kim is a gritty competitor, one of the grittiest around. "I was happy to get a lead at lunch, and I continued to play really positively. My caddy told me to carry on fighting, and take it one shot at a time. Fortunately the putter finally got a little bit hot." "This course is very demanding, not only mentally but also physically. All departments of my game were strong: the new driver seems to be going really well, my short game was pretty sharp and there were some shots out there that really paid dividends." Fisher, who has high hopes making his Ryder Cup debut in Wales next October, had played an amazing 126 holes in four days - and stopped 24-year-old Kim eclipsing Seve Ballesteros as the prestigious event's youngest-ever winner. | The best player in the world is an aggressive player and he hasn't done too badly. That's where I draw inspiration from - try to be aggressive but smart as well |
He also moved into 17th position in the world - only hours after Ian Poulter's one-shot win in Singapore had taken him to a best-ever 15th. Fisher has charged from 107th in the race for Ryder Cup qualifying to fifth in one mighty leap. "I think this format suits me," he continued. "I'm quite an aggressive player and sometimes it's caught me out in the past but the best player in the world is an aggressive player and he hasn't done too badly. "That's where I draw inspiration from - try to be aggressive but smart as well." It was a policy that paid dividends on the 22nd and 23rd. First he drove to the back of the green on the 334-yard par four and holed a 35-footer for eagle, then he two-putted the next for a birdie to go three clear after Kim had opened the door by driving up against rocks. Kim responded straightaway with a 15-foot putt but was kicking himself for three-putting the following two holes - the second after missing from less than two feet. The best golf of the day actually came in the 18-hole third-place play-off, where Robert Allenby beat Angel Cabrera at the first extra hole. Allenby holed in one with a five wood to the 230-yard sixth, birdied the par-five last for an eight-under-par 64 - and then made an 18-footer for eagle when they went into sudden death. His reward was a cheque for more than £225,308 and Cabrera, runner-up to Ernie Els two years ago, took away more than £180,000.
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