By Ryan Herrington
You would hardly have known how historic the moment was with the nonchalant way Oliver Fisher tapped in his par putt on the 18th hole at Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course on Friday. Only a few seconds later did the 30-year-old Englishman reveal a wry smile and a look that showed he knew just what he had accomplished.

Nineteen times golfers have shot 60 on the European Tour, but famously never a 59 until Fisher capped a remarkable round under perfect playing conditions at the Portgual Masters.

Fisher put himself in position for something special by playing the front nine on the Arnold Palmer-designed course in Vilamoura, Portugal, in seven-under 28, with five birdies and an eagle.

“I obviously knew I was in with a shout of shooting a low one when I made a good start,” said Fisher, who posted an even-par 71 during Thursday’s opening round. “It was important to keep reminding myself that I was out there to have some fun, enjoy it, and not get too tentative. When you’ve got a good round going, it’s easy to do that.”

Jan Kruger/Getty Images
Oliver Fisher celebrates after finishing with a round of 59, the first 59 shot on the European Tour during Day Two of the 2018 Portugal Masters.

Fisher kept the momentum going with birdies on the 10th, 11th and 12th holes to get to 10 under, needing just two more birdies on the final six holes for the magic number.

He got one of them on the par-4 15th, and the other on the par-5 17th. But in between came arguably the biggest moment of the round. Fisher missed the green on the par-4 16th, but saved a par from 20 feet.

Needing par on the home hole, Fisher split the fairway with his drive and hit his approach to roughly 40 feet. He then nearly jumped 59 and went right to a 58, just missing his birdie attempt.

5️⃣ 9️⃣#PortugalMasters pic.twitter.com/SDUGLA3SPS

— ?59 on the European Tour? (@EuropeanTour) September 21, 2018

Ranked 287th in the world, Fisher entered the tournament 72nd in the Race to Dubai, his tour card for 2019 seemingly in hand. That hasn’t always been the case for the former Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup player, whose lone European Tour win came in 2011 at the Czech Open.

“Very different to a couple of years ago on this green,” Fisher said, “when I was fighting to keep my card. I had that in the back of my mind, thinking, ‘You know what, things could be worse.’ It was fun, I tried to enjoy it.”

The 12-under performance jumped Fisher into a share of the lead midway through the day with Australia’s Lucas Hebert. Fisher’s best finish this season is a runner-up showing at the Qatar Masters.

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By Ryan Herrington
Sunday felt like a long time coming for England’s Eddie Pepperell. Many labeled the gregarious 27-year-old a rising talent on the European Tour, but he needed 129 starts in six seasons (along with one return trip Qualifying School) before finally claiming the breakthrough win so many expected.

Impressively, Pepperell’s maiden Euro Tour victory at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters came not through aggressive play or by overpowering Doha Golf Club. Rather, it was the patience Pepperell’s learned as he’s grown as a professional golfer that served him well, closing with a two-under 70 to hold off countryman Oliver Fisher by a stroke, winning with an 18-under 280 total.

Pepperell and Fisher started the day in the desert tied for the lead, and while Pepperell felt like he was struggling when he opened with eight straight pars before a birdie on the ninth, it was good enough to grab a four-stroke lead on Fisher, who had made a trio of bogeys on the front side.    

“I had to play smarter on the front nine, with some tricky pins,” Pepperell said.

Tom Dulat/Getty Images

Playing with a cushion after making another birdie on the 10th hole, Pepperell picked his spots on the back nine. Case in point: On the short par-4 16th, after he had bogeyed the previous hole, Pepperell hit a 3-iron/wedge to set up a five-foot birdie. “I knew I was playing especially quite well tee to green,” Pepperell said.

Fisher, though, would not go quietly, making five birdies on the back nine to pull within one stroke as the pair played the par-5 18th hole. Both players laid up with their second shots, but Pepperell was in the rough to hit his third shot. Fisher hit his approach to 10 feet but failed to make the birdie, setting Pepperell up to take the title when he two-putted for his par.

? The best of Pepperell’s winning final round ?#QatarMasters pic.twitter.com/thDJdkVxWb

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 25, 2018

“This will give me confidence,” said Pepperell, who first earned his European Tour card in 2012, but had to regain it at Q school in 2016. In 2017, he had four top-five finishes on the season, chronicling his season on his own highly entertaining blog.

“I’ve always felt and believed I will win out here, but it hadn’t happened before today,” Pepperell said. “You’ve always got to take that step and that’s uneasy, but at some point in everyone’s career they’ve got to do something for the first time. Hopefully, this is not my last.”

The final #QatarMasters leaderboard:

???????-18 @PepperellEddie
???????-17 @olifisher1
??-16 @marcuskinhult
??-15 @RenatoParatore
??-15 @plarrazabal
??-15 @gfcgolf
??-15 @GregHavret

All Scores: https://t.co/8M0WPsnuHO pic.twitter.com/6INIh9h3dw

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 25, 2018

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By Kent Gray
Oliver Fisher’s four-birdie finish in a third round 65 or Eddie Pepperell’s clutch birdie on 18 to tie the lead with a 65 after an earlier gain on the 16th hole.

Take you pick for the biggest momentum shift heading into the thunderstorm threatened final round of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.

But for a shot that could yet define the final leg of the 2018 Desert Swing, look no further than the 12th hole on a drama filled third day at Doha Golf Club. In fact, make that the three shots Pepperell took from a sticky spot on the par 4 for a bogey that kept his bid for a maiden European Tour title going.

Here’s the video evidence of a hole that could have ended much worse for the 27-year-old Englishman. The European Tour even wonder if it might be the bogey of a season barely three months old.

The best bogey of Eddie Pepperell’s career ????#QatarMasters pic.twitter.com/OfsmdCCZbA

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 24, 2018

Pepperell went on to produce this shot and subsequent putt on the par-5 18th to tie Fisher at -16 for a two-stroke buffer over unheralded American Sean Crocker. Italian duo Lorenzo Gagli and Andrea Pavan, Frenchman Grégory Havret, England’s David Horsey and Swede Marcus Kinhult are a further two shots adrift at 12 under

Birdie needed to tie the lead.

Over to you, @PepperellEddie… pic.twitter.com/yxAldg5jJL

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 24, 2018

“I would say that was my best round, especially with the position I was in going into the day. I hit a lot of good shots, I maybe lost a little feeling through the turn, but I bounced back nicely and I didn’t let it bother me,” said Pepperell who will take the 54 hole lead into Sunday for the second time.

“That’s a nice score on a Saturday and coming down the last few holes, certainly down the last seeing Oli on 16 under, I didn’t want to finish behind the leader so I’m happy to be at least tied.”

Pepperell may have had trouble with the rocks earlier but he got a fortunate bounce on the 16th and got up and down for birdie to cut the lead back to one before a nice third set up a closing birdie.

“When I saw Oli was on 16 under I said that I wanted to birdie the last,” said Pepperell, “and I’ve managed to do that so mentally I feel like I’m up for it, my game is there and it’s just going to be a case of holing putts and getting into the rhythm of the round, keep on doing what I’m doing because I’m hitting a lot of good shots.”

Here’s Fisher’s brilliant finish.

Oli Fisher’s finish: Birdie 15 – Birdie 16 – Birdie 17 – Birdie 18.

That’s how you sign for a 6️⃣5️⃣. pic.twitter.com/pLdGxGPbc7

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 24, 2018

“I’m very pleased with my day today and looking forward to tomorrow,” said Fisher, who is searching for his first win on the European Tour since the 2011 Czech Open.

“The important thing for me is to make sure I give myself enough time with things, to make sure I’m aware of what I’m doing and try and enjoy it as much as I can, I did that today. My caddie was great.

“I gave myself some chances coming in and thankfully I made them.”

Oliver Fisher tees off on the 6th hole during the third round of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. Getty Images.

Fisher completed his stunning finish with a 20-foot left-to-righter and is ready for Sunday.

“It’s always a strange course because you can play okay around here and not do too much,” he said. “I felt like I missed some opportunities on the first and nine and 10, although they can play a bit tricky at times but I was really pleased to birdie 18.

“We’ve still got one round to go, a lot of golf to be played out there but I’ve certainly put myself in a good position.”

Due to forecast thunderstorms Sunday’s final round will feature a two-tee start from 06:30 will the leaders off the 1st tee at 8.30am local time.

With 18 holes to go:

??????? -16 @olifisher1
??????? -16 @PepperellEddie
?? -14 @seancrocker11
??????? -12 @DaveHorsey
?? -12 @marcuskinhult
?? -12 @AndreaPavan89
?? -12 @Gagliunofficial
?? -12 @GregHavret https://t.co/8M0WPsnuHO pic.twitter.com/IkjkSiVQPo

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 24, 2018

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By Kent Gray
Sir Nick Faldo pauses momentarily as he reflects on the 21st anniversary of his globe-trotting junior development series.

“It’s been quite a good journey, yeah,” the 60-year-old golfing knight turned commentary box royal says with a hearty dollop of English understatement.

The Faldo Junior Series has indeed come a long way – 40 events in 30 countries annually to be exact – since the six-time major champion created the non-profit organisation in 1996 to give back to a sport that has given him so much. Among the talented youngsters identified and nurtured along the way have been major champions Rory McIlroy and Yani Tseng, plus tour winners Nick Dougherty, Oliver Fisher, Marc Warren, John Parry, Rashid Khan, Melissa Reid, Florentyna Parker and Carly Booth.

You can bet a handful of the 57 names on this week’s 21st Faldo Series European Grand Final leaderboard will emerge from Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club as future stars too after benefitting from the unique combination of tough tournament examinations and lashings of expert advice.

Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
Rory McIlroy poses with Nick Faldo after winning the U-17 division of the 2006 Faldo Junior Series at The Celtic Manor Resort on October 6, 2006.

From his home in Orlando, Faldo himself has come along way this week to host in Abu Dhabi. He’s brought sports psychologist Kjell Enhager with him, a man Faldo admits he could have done with during his playing days when he feared his mental fortitude might be exposed if he didn’t hide behind that famously aloof “blinkers on from the first tee to the 18th green” exterior.

“Kjell did a great presentation talking about the mind, how to visualise, how to make decisions, how to practice better, how to get yourself in the right mental state,” said Faldo. “It was a real good eye opener for them, they’re getting some good stuff from us.”

The learning, it seems, is a two-way thing.

“When we started [in 1996] you didn’t really appreciate all the differences but when you take European kids to say Asia and they get thrown in the deep end and suddenly they have to learn to play golf with an eight hour time change, different grass and you’re going to get sunburnt even when the sun doesn’t even come out, it’s a great learning experience.”

Faldo has been imparting his wisdom too, playing nine practice holes Sunday with some of the starry-eyed youngsters before holding a clinic for AESGC members on Monday morning as the talented teens from Europe, Asia and the UAE [Reema Al Heloo and Rashed Al Emadi] set off on their 54-hole odyssey.

A separate clinic for the players was planned for Monday afternoon and typical of his playing days, Faldo has come prepared, as much as his busy television commitments allow anyway.

“I always come in with some kind of theme to try and give the kids a bit of insight into what and how top sportsmen think, act and react, and how they can test themselves,” Faldo said

Asked for this weeks theme, the serial swing tinkerer of old emerges and makes for a fascinating listen.

“It’s funny I’ve been practicing and I always talk about my ‘four swing”, I mean I had one backswing and four different follow throughs to hit different shots,” says Faldo, clearly just warming up.

“When you play less you go right to what has to happen, the absolute musts, so if you’re trying to hit the ball high, what do you have to do to make it happen, how do you release the club? If you want to hit it low, if you want to hit a fade, hit a draw…and I’ve been doing that myself from the same stance basically, and then you learn to make minute differences and how to feel the differences and then what happens when you make the differences.

“You know, if you make some kind of difference in your swing, where does the golf ball go and if it goes consistently in a certain direction, can you use that as a positive, in a way to use it on the golf course?”

Just as he’s making a huge difference to the careers of all those involved at Al Ain this week, so too is Faldo playing the mutual appreciation game.

“It’s great, a great spot,” the CBS analyst says of AESGC . “Obviously this time of year its perfect. To try and go as late as possible in the season as we do, I mean you struggle in central Europe, it’s too cold. We’ve been to Loch Lomond where it’s blowing 40 miles an hour and it’s 40°f  (5°c), it snowed in the Greenbrier and well, they’ve got a treat here. They’re in nice breezy conditions in the low 80s (27°c), it’s going to be a good test for them.”

Faldo holds court at Monday’s AESGC members’ clinic.

The first day scoring showed many are up to the test with England’s Charlie Salter and Australian Daniel Gale leading the way with four under 66s. In all, 11 players bettered par.

With the backing of the R&A, World Amateur Golf Ranking points and trips to next year’s Asia Grand Final – Faldo will invite three boys and two girls to the event at his Faldo Design course in Vietnam, Laguna Lang Co, in March – on the line, there is still much to play for.

Regardless of the scoring this week, the chance to glean tips of the trade from Europe’s most majored golfer is a priceless opportunity. The journey – for both Faldo and his juniors – continues.

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