World Matchplay was great for English golf but not so great for, well, matchplay golf

General / Tareq Quiroz / 03 November 2009 /

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Congratulations Mr Fisher!

"With a new venue came a new format. A round robin group stage was an innovation I think we can easily do without. Surely this totally negates the whole idea of matchplay! Why should you get a second chance if you get beat?"

Ross Fisher became the latest English golfer to win in recent weeks but meddling with the classic matchplay format lessens the win a little for Tareq Quiroz

What a month it has been for English golf. In that time we have had no less than five tour wins from English golfers. The run began with a cracking performance from Simon Dyson to win the Alfred Dunhill Links and was capped off at the weekend with Ross Fisher's super effort to claim the World Matchplay title.

For Fisher it has been something of a mixed bag this year. He has played very well in the big events but produced very little elsewhere. He had huge chances in both the US Open and the Open Championship but couldn't convert. He didn't have that problem last week though, as he grew in stature with every round of the competition.

After a year's break the World Matchplay returned...but not as we know it. The venue changed from the ever familiar surrounding Wentworth to the Finca Cortesin Club in sunny Spain. I am traditionalist so was not a fan of the change, but I have to say that the organisers did a fine job in finding a suitable replacement venue. It is as if it was built for the matchplay format and, alongside Fisher, it was the success of the week.

But with the new venue came a new format. A round robin group stage was an innovation I think we can easily do without. Surely this totally negates the whole idea of matchplay! Why should you get a second chance if you get beat? For me, if you are beaten in matchplay then you should no longer be able to win the event but as it turned out everyone in the field got beat at some stage during the event.

I understand that part of the reason for the round robin is so we don't lose a star player after day one. Tough. If you lose you should be out. We had Sergio Garcia and Martin Kaymer who still had to play each other on day two even though neither of them could go through. They are big stars that the TV coverage quite rightly showed virtually nothing of on day two. So, again, what was the point?

The format was a joke but that won't bother Fisher. He is clearly the man for a big occasion and I fully expect him to be up there challenging for majors again next season. Fisher has the all round game to be a huge success. There is something very Faldo-esque like about him and if he can achieve half the success of the great man then Fisher will be very happy.

English golf has never looked better. It is early but as it stands the top five in the European Points list for the Ryder Cup are all English and that doesn't include the likes of Oliver Wilson, Luke Donald, Paul Casey or Justin Rose. Now all they need to do is turn promise into majors.

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