May26 BMWverdict

Saturday was the day of the underdog in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. It was a quiet day for the big guns but the unsung heroes made a lot of noise – none more so than local boy made good Ross Fisher who is Wentworth through and through – he started playing here in 1994.

And master Fisher, cheered on by a partisan home crowd, certainly took full advantage of his home course knowledge as he enjoyed (most of the time anyway) a rollicking, rollercoaster round of 69 which shot him to the top of the leaderboard alongside veteran Paul Broadhurst.

It was a herculean effort by Fisher who bounced back superbly after dropping four shots just prior to the turn. But he kept his cool and nerve, afterwards explaining: “I don’t get wound-up, lose my temper and start throwing clubs around. I told myself to pull myself together and I did. It just clicked from there.”

That’s the understatement of the year: he hardly made a false move on the back nine, scoring five birdies. He now can’t wait for tomorrow when he tees up with seasoned campaigner Broadhurst who shot a fine 68 and who in comparison has virtually seen-it-all-and-done-it-all. Broadhurst is a former Ryder Cupper who has won six times on Tour although he admits victory in the BMW PGA would easily be the pinnacle of his career.

It was a gritty showing too by Broadhurst who couldn’t hit his hat in last week’s Irish Open – after his Adare Manor nightmare he freely admitted it would be a miracle if he won here.

All is set then for a thrilling climax to the Tour’s flagship event and it will be fascinating to see if young Fisher can deal with the pressure, the fierce competition, the huge galleries and the likely dodgy weather set to descend on Wentworth tomorrow.

As I say, it was a bad day for the real stars though the English trio of Justin Rose, Nick Dougherty and Paul Casey will all feel they are still in contention: unlike Padraig Harrington who had a bad day at the office and carded a 75. The Irishman has a mountain to climb if he’s to secure his second successive win – he triumphed in Ireland last week – and bank a one millionn euros bonus as a result.

But watch out for South African – and we’re not talking about Ernie Els here – Richard Sterne who fired the round of the day, a glorious 66 to share third spot with Aussie Marcus Fraser. Sterne showed his fellow counrtyman how to play the course Els revamped, the latter carding a level par 72 but finishing ten shots off the pace. It was just one of those days for the top boys…

When the leaders start tomorrow 12.12 Paul Casey & Nick Dougherty; 12.21 Markus Brier & Anders Hansen; 12.30 Miguel Angel Jimenez & Justin Rose; 12.39 Marcus Fraser & Richard Sterne; 12.48 Ross Fisher & Paul Broadhurst.

Photo: By Getty Images