Fisher looks to land a big one

Ross Fisher shot a three-under-par 70 to put him top of leaderboard for the second consecutive day in the South African Airways Open.

Fisher carded a five-under-par 68 yesterday and today’s 70 left him eight-under-par – five ahead of nearest challenger Retief Goosen, the world number four playing on home soil.

The Ascot golfer’s round included seven birdies, two bogeys and a double-bogey on the 448 yard par-4 12th, aptly named Sheer Murrrder.

He started with a drop when he missed a straightforward par putt on the first but came back quickly with birdie at the tough par-three second.

“I haven’t played much links golf,” he said. “I’ve played [Lytham] St Anne’s maybe five times and the St Andrews Links when I played the British Amateur.

“My game isn’t really suited to links courses but over the years I’ve managed to control the flight of my ball.

“I enjoy it though – it’s a great challenge. You really have to be imaginative around the greens.”

Fisher is looking for his biggest win to date, with his best finish after turning professional in 2004 his joint fourth at the Volvo China Open three weeks ago, however he intends to concentrate on having fun for the remainder of the event and try to enjoy being in contention.

South African Tim Clark, the defending champion who led after day one with Fisher, slipped down to joint sixth with a five-over-par 78.

Second-placed Goosen was looking forward to the final two days, especially since he is known for his ability to excel in difficult scoring conditions.

“Every shot is hard work,” he said. “There is no strolling out there and you have to keep grinding things out if you want to see a result.

“Keeping the ball on the fairway is key.”

Goosen began with a par but floundered when he three-putted the second for bogey.

“That was a ridiculous pin position. If you put your ball on the top half of the green it’s impossible to two-putt – you’ll leave yourself with a guaranteed 15-footer coming back up the slope,” he complained.

However, he added: “I was much more consistent today. I kept the ball in play and although I still wasn’t happy with my swing, I ground it out and got a result.”

Goosen said his only disappointment were missed opportunities on the eighth and 16th – two par-fives where birdies are easily obtainable.

“I think I could easily have finished on six-under today if I’d made use of those par-fives but anything can happen on a course like this on the final two days.

“If you take half a club too much it’s easy to make double drop.”

Windy conditions are expected at The Links tomorrow, which will add to the already tough scoring conditions with the cut falling at eight-over-par.