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Ken Borland


Pretoria CC parklands very different to Copperleaf but Fisher still favourite 0

Posted on December 03, 2015 by Ken

 

Pretoria Country Club will differ greatly from the Copperleaf course he won the title on last year, but Englishman Ross Fisher will be the favourite when the co-sanctioned Tshwane Open starts this morning at the parklands course in Waterkloof.

Fisher is the second highest-ranked golfer in the field at 66th in the world rankings, behind compatriot Andy Sullivan (57th), so he has the pedigree; and he certainly has the form judging by his lofty third position in the European Tour’s Race to Dubai.

The lanky 34-year-old comes to Pretoria fresh off a tie for 23rd in the lucrative WGC Cadillac Championship at Doral, where he finished with three rounds of par or better, so Fisher is in a good frame of mind.

“It’s a very different course, a lot shorter and more fiddly, there’s a lot of positional play off the tees so you’re hitting a lot of irons and not many drivers. I prefer quite long and tight courses because driver is my strength, but it’s been a very good start to the season. Finishing second at Sun City was a great start, I had a decent three weeks in the desert and I’m really pleased I came back well at Doral.

“This course should be easier because the winds were pretty strong and there was a lot of water at Doral, but there’s still trouble out there. But I’ve come up with my own game plan, being strategic is going to play a critical role,” Fisher said yesterday.

The former Ryder Cup player’s namesake, Trevor Fisher Junior, is still recovering from his breakthrough win last weekend at the Africa Open in East London, but the South African is determined to not rest on that triumph.

“I’m still on a high, but it’s been tough with all the calls and messages and with all the excitement I’ve hardly slept. But last week is now in the past and I just want to get out on to the first tee and play. I don’t want to get comfortable, I want to try and win again as soon as possible,” Fisher Junior said.

“If it will take a week or 10 months, I don’t know. There are such small margins in golf,” he said before using his own poor form at the Dimension Data Pro-Am, where he shot 74-69-78-76, two weeks prior to East London, as an illustration.

That will give hope to George Coetzee, who is playing on his home course, but admits he doesn’t know whether he is going “to play well or badly until the first tee on Thursday”.

 

 

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    Christ-likeness is about bearing his fruit – We can’t produce it ourselves.

    For this we need the Holy Spirit in our inner being.

    “Stay close to him and do all we can to get to know him better. Spiritual growth is an ongoing process to which we should dedicate ourselves wholeheartedly.” – A Shelter From The Storm by Solly Ozrovech

    It’s a real challenge to become like Jesus, a living faith requires effort from our side.

    “But he always meets us more than halfway when our efforts are sincere, and strengthens us through his Spirit.” – ibid. We must obediently follow wherever he leads.

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    Remember that Jesus himself was not exempt from problems, nor did his problems just disappear instantaneously. So he can share your burden and teach you how to cope with it so that you can have peace of mind too.

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    2 Corinthians 2:14 – “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ.”

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