Driving forward

Fisher: netted Match Play title

What I said to Ross was 'you can't win it in the car park' on a Tuesday. You can only win it Sunday. You've just got to calm down and wait for the opportunity.

Mark Roe
Quotes of the week

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Ross Fisher and Chris Wood will continue to take great strides in 2010 after standing tall in the past season.

That was the view of Golf Night's Tim Barter and Mark Roe who expect to see both players in the winner's circle over the forthcoming year.

The pundits named Edoardo Molinari as their most improved player of the season for his incredible rise up the rankings and World Cup success with brother Francesco, while Rory McIlroy earned an honourable mention for nearly winning the Race to Dubai.

Excelled

But 2009 was the year Fisher came of age. He proved too strong for Angel Cabrera in the semi-finals of November's World Match Play and then went on to beat Anthony Kim in the final, in Spain.

The victory ensured that the 29-year-old was one of only five players to win a trophy in all of the last three seasons, while he excelled on the biggest stage of all too by compiling the best aggregate score in all four majors this year.

European Tour coach Barter reflected: "The Match Play was a championship that meant a great deal to him, having grown up at Wentworth. It was one he particularly wanted to win.

"He hadn't won in this particular calendar win and was running out of chances but came up with the goods. He played quite beautifully from start to finish.

"Having interviewed him after his Match Play win and again in Dubai when he was talking about the end of his season he was a little bit disappointed that he hadn't taken full opportunity in the major championships.

"He felt he should have won one because he did lead all four at one stage."

Pressure

Roe, Fisher's short game coach, was rightly proud of his protégé but explained that the season hadn't been entirely plain sailing.

"Ross was getting a little bit frustrated with himself," he revealed. "He felt like he'd played some magnificent golf, particularly in the majors where he had his chances, and had accumulated a huge amount of money but no wins.

"He was putting a lot of pressure on himself almost before he'd even got to the tournaments, knowing he was playing well to try and pick up a trophy to polish the season off.

"What I said to him was 'you can't win it in the car park' on a Tuesday. You can only win it Sunday. You've just got to calm down and wait for the opportunity.

"That's what he did that week at the Match Play. He took one match at a time; it was just a magnificent week and it capped off a brilliant season."

Strength

Another player who has contended in major championships is Wood, who since January has improved his world ranking from 194 to 72.

The 2009 Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the year, Wood claimed five top 10s in 2009 and put in the standout display of September's Vivendi Trophy by claiming 4½ points out of a possible five for Great Britain & Ireland.

Barter said: "He is the man for the big occasion. He finished fifth in the Open in 2008 and then came out this year and finished third.

"At the Vivendi Trophy, the first occasion that he played as a professional in a team event, he played quite beautifully all week and took to it like a duck to water.

"I think he has a huge future and if he doesn't win in 2010 I will be hugely surprised."

Roe added: "I think he has done immensely well. It shows huge mental strength to actually play so well at the Open. He is consistently improving."