Golf: Birth controls Fisher's Open fortunes

When it comes to holding aloft precious cargo this weekend Ross Fisher could have his hands full, with or without the Claret Jug.

There is no guarantee that Fisher, despite being handily placed on the leaderboard, will even complete the 138th Open.

As soon as news arrives that his pregnant wife Jo is going into labour, the 28-year-old Wentworth professional will be on a private plane from Prestwick to Farnborough.

The due date was on Tuesday but after Fisher completed 36 holes in scores of 69 and 68 to be three under par, tied for fourth and only two shots behind leader Tom Watson, the fairytale finish would see him holding both the newborn and the Open trophy by Monday morning.

Out in the worst of yesterday's conditions, Fisher produced a rare sub-par round and after signing his card, rose further up the leaderboard while others struggled. Back home in Cheam, Jo had to leave the television for a doctor's appointment.

Fisher's situation mirrors that of Phil Mickelson at the 1999 US Open when he carried a pager and also vowed to leave the course the moment he was required elsewhere.

He contended until the very last hole before losing to Payne Stewart's birdie. Had he forced a play-off the next day, he could not have stayed for it.

"I'd love to be here for all four days but obviously my wife comes first," Fisher said. "If she were to go into labour I've got no choice. I want to be there. It's going to be a great experience and one that I don't want to miss."

But if the baby were to hang on a couple more days, or to arrive outside of Fisher's weekend tee-times, then an even greater story remains a hope.

"Maybe this is an inspiration, perhaps it is driving me on to hopefully win a major championship and then see Jo give birth to our first child. It would be a fairytale but obviously it is out of my hands. Hopefully it will hold off for another couple of days and I can play two more good rounds."

Thoughts of Fisher winning a maiden major are far from fanciful. He may have won only twice on the European Tour but he looked comfortable in his debut at the Masters in April and highly impressive when almost winning the US Open last month.

A fifth-place finish at Bethpage, one ahead of Tiger Woods and three behind the winner Lucas Glover, showed Fisher that his "game is ready to win the biggest and best tournaments".

His long game was superb but he did not get rewarded on the greens. Here he has taken command on the closing stretch, birdying the last three holes on Thursday and the 15th, 16th and 17th holes yesterday.

- INDEPENDENT