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A LOT OF WORK TO DO!
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T was great to get back in action at The Invitational hosted by Abdullah Al Naboodah at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club but I have to say I was pretty rusty to say the least. In fact, if I had to choose one word to sum up how I played it would be ‘dreadful’! I went to the USA during the off season for the dual purpose of furnishing the new house we’ve bought on Lake Nona and getting in some warm weather practice ahead of the new the season but it didn’t exactly go to plan. Jo, her sister Michelle, Eve and I had a great time in a personal sense and the new house is really nice, we’re really pleased with it. But in a golfing sense it wasn’t a very successful trip, unfortunately. The weather was freezing – much colder than normal according to some of the boys who have houses out there – so I didn’t manage to get much practicing done and judging by my performance at The Invitational, I’ve got a lot of work to do! Abdullah’s tournament was another big success. He puts a really good show on and knows how to treat both the pros and the amateurs so it was a great 12
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day. It’s the third time I’ve played in the event and it just keeps going from strength to strength – the field keeps getting better and better and the day as a whole is just fantastic. The atmosphere out on the course was brilliant and there was a lot of banter flying around so everyone had a lot of fun. Hats off to Abdullah and James Bowring and all the people who had input on the day, it was a really successful event, which raised a lot of money for charity. To raise Dhs750,000 at the charity auction during the prizegiving dinner alone was absolutely tremendous and to know that you’re part of that is a great feeling. But the serious business out the golf course starts this week with the Qatar Masters, my first proper tournament of 2010. I’ve only played the event twice before but the course at Doha is one that definitely suits my game – history has shown that big hitters have won the tournament so hopefully I can shake off the rust and go out there and surprise myself with a good performance. Who knows? It could be a really good week. If you go out there without any
real expectation – because you haven’t played – you can have a really relaxed, carefree attitude, which is what I’m going to try and do. Hopefully I can perform well, get the competitive juices flowing again, and take the positives on to the following week when I’ll be back in Dubai for the Desert Classic – a tournament where I’ve enjoyed strong results over the last few years. There’s a lot of talk about the new groove regulations at the moment and different players seem to have different opinions about how they will affect them. From my own perspective I think they’re going to benefit me in a positive way. I’ve always spun the ball a tremendous amount with my wedges so I think the new rules will help me massively. Where it’s going to take a bit of time to get used to is with my irons and shots out of the rough, stuff like that. It might take me a few rounds or a couple of tournaments to get used to them but hopefully I can get comfortable straight away and go out and have a good week.
IN THE KNOW WITH ROSS FISHER
Ross Fisher currently sits in 18th place on the Official World Golf Ranking. As he is yet to play an event on the 2010 Race to Dubai schedule he has not yet made his first impression on the money list.