TURNBERRY, Scotland, (Reuters) – Ross Fisher may be well-placed to end a 10-year wait for a native winner of the British Open but he is expecting most of the crowd to be backing 59-year-old Tom Watson in today’s final round.
“He (Watson) is just a legend,” Englishman Fisher told reporters after a level-par 70 in the penultimate round put him in second place on three under, one behind the veteran American.
“He is a great player and I’m sure there will be a lot of people rooting for him.”
Fisher faces another nerve-wracking day today. His wife Joanne was due to give birth to their first child five days ago and the 28-year-old has said he will pull out of the championship if she goes into labour.
“I’ll be supporting her 100 percent,” he added. “I won’t be here. I’ll be with her because it’s something I definitely don’t want to miss.”
Starting the day in joint fourth place on two under is another home favourite, Lee Westwood, and double U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen. Paul Lawrie was the last native of the British Open, at Carnoustie in 1999.
