Mark Roe hails Ross Fisher's world-class potential, which could propel him into Ryder Cup contention.
Fisher's looking good - and so are Europe's Ryder Cup hopes
The very first time I worked with Ross Fisher I felt he was a young player who could become world class. After his victory at the London Club, he has hopefully started to realise just how good he is.
I thought his European Open win was a wonderful display of golf from start to finish but it was a real mental triumph for Ross as well. He has seen leads slip away in the past, memorably at Wentworth last year and also at the HSBC Champions event in Shanghai, so this was a big watershed for him.
Some battle-weary tournament professionals go out there and keep making the same mistakes under pressure again and again, year after year. That takes its toll and makes them believe they aren't capable of winning.
But while Ross has had disappointments, he hasn't seen them as negatives but rather as part of his learning process. Each one has been a small hurdle towards bigger things and if that in-built positive attitude is taking him forward in the sport.
There's no doubt that he has world-class potential. He has such ease of power and is the sort of player that can dominate a golf course, as he showed with his 63 in the first round.
That was five shots better than anybody else on his side of the draw and you don't do that unless you're incredibly talented.
Pride
It always fills you with pride when you feel like you've had a small part to play in somebody's success. There was a bit of refining and shaping to do on his short game when we started working together and his bunker play was a particular weakness.
But those things are improving all the time. A good short game is the key to the game of golf because you can't hit the ball well every day and sometimes you need to rely on a strong short game to keep you in tournaments.
That's why Lee Westwood has found the levels of consistency that he's showing and equally Ross will continue to develop into a world-class player.
His work ethic is excellent and he's a diligent student who is keen to learn. It's a pleasure to work with someone like that, somebody who is very humble and who is a genuinely nice lad.
Right now I'd say he can be as good as he wants to be, it's a simple as that. He can start looking at breaking into the top 20 in the world and I'm sure he'll achieve that.
He's also catapulted himself into the Ryder Cup reckoning and I believe he would be a great first-time player for the European team.
There's still a long way to go, but he's coming into form at exactly the right time and I'm sure Nick Faldo will be thinking about him if he's looking for some young talent to balance the team up. As a former world number one and a six-time major champion, Nick will recognise the qualities that Ross showed at the London Club last weekend.
Valhalla will be in Ross's thoughts now, but I think it's important not to make it a priority. He's got to go out and do his best every week and if he reaches his potential then he could fly into the side.
Shaping up
Looking at the current Ryder Cup list, I think our team is shaping up magnificently. I thought it was going to be a tough match at Valhalla, but without Tiger Woods on the American side I feel they have lost their golden nugget.
People say Woods was never a great Ryder Cup player, but I don't care what slant Paul Azinger wants to put on things, his absence is a massive blow. He's the only player in the world who makes you petrified when you stand on the first tee alongside him.
I'm sure they'll have him in the team room, almost as a "mascot" if you like, and I'm sure his presence will give them a boost but his injury has definitely put them on the back foot.
A few weeks ago I thought the Americans were the favourites, particularly because Azinger's four picks would allow him to select a balanced team. All of a sudden things have swung in our favour and we can start to look at that match and start thinking about bringing it back again.
Our team is strengthening all the time and there's a lot of rich talent running into form at the right moment - and there's still plenty of guys with great Ryder Cup experience who are currently outside the automatic places.
You'd definitely want Padraig Harrington and Luke Donald in that side, while people like Darren Clarke and Paul Casey are further down the list.
I can't understand why Casey wasn't at the London Club last week because you've got to be at tournaments and show the desire to get into that team. However, he is the sort of player who's capable of winning twice in three weeks and getting into the team.
I'm sure Nick won't be looking too far down the list for his picks, but with 10 weeks to go there's still a lot of points to be played for and a lot of money to be won.
Things can all change very quickly, but as it stands I'm very excited about our chances.
