Profile / Bill Elliott / 02 April 2008 / 1 Comments

Don't listen to Thomas Levet, says Bill Elliott, Oliver could be good, he may even be great, but don't say he's the next Nick or Tiger

Damned by faint praise they say but this is nothing compared to being cursed by extravagant encouragement. Right now I am hoping that this 'Rule of Life' does not nail young Englishman Oliver Fisher.

You'll know that Fisher unluckily messed up the last hole in Spain last week to narrowly avoid his maiden European Tour win. Instead of underlining his potential, Fisher dropped a shot at the last to allow in wily, old Thomas Levet who seized his moment to win at the first extra hole.

This was terrific news for Levet who has spent much of the last couple of years battling a weird bout of vertigo that meant he felt seasick swinging a golf club. The Frenchman's euphoria at his fourth Euro title spilled over into his quotes when he was asked about Fisher.

"He's terrific, " said Thomas.

"His game is so unbelievable that if he continues improving as he has done recently then in a few years he will be at the level of Tiger."

And before hitting Tiger's level Fisher, says Levet, will for a short time "be England's next Nick Faldo."

Woods? Faldo? Why didn't he throw in Jimmy Hendrix and the Massed Bands of the Grenadier Guards plus possibly the Man U midfield? I know Levet was trying to console the 19-year-old but really he needs to think a bit more before uttering such nonsense. Fisher is good, maybe very, very good, maybe even sensationally outstanding but he has as much chance of emulating Faldo or Woods as that bloke over in the corner.

Levet and his new, youngest and bestest friend play in the Portugese Open this week at Estoril and the chances now are that each will struggle, Fisher because he is still fretting over what nearly was in Spain and Levet because this is what most winners do immediately after victory. Quite why winners do this is beyond me unless it's because some of them have trouble sobering up.

Anyway, the point here is that the sports world is littered with the pale memories of young blokes who someone said were going to be the next Pele, Bestie or Desert Orchid. Desert Orchid? Well, you know what I mean. Instead of taking their game by storm they ended up stacking supermarket shelves or, worse, having to earn a living as an accountant.

In golf I've seen them arrive and exit early more times than I may shake a three iron at. There was Paul Way who won a PGA Championship and a couple of other things, played in a Ryder Cup and then disappeared before he could shave properly; Robert Lee was selected by Lee Trevino as the Next Big Thing and he was too - on Sky TV. And don't get me started on Peter Baker who older fans will recall once seriously whacked the aforesaid Faldo when Nick was in his absolute prime before retreating to the chorus line again.

It's a funny old game as Greavsie always used to point out to Saint in the days when ITV had a proper sports department. And it is too. In golf, consistency over a five year period suggests someone has what it takes to survive and probably prosper, anything less is no more than a cheap candle trying to blow in a hurricane.

This is why I am suggesting that we all leave Levet and Fisher (both trading at [40.0]) well alone this week and probably for the next couple of months as well. Of course either may do something worthwhile during this time but if so they will be flying in the face of conventional wisdom. And conventional wisdom always is the way to bet even if it is a bit boring.

Comments (1)

1. Big Boy | 05 April 2008

   Couldn't agree more - as the 'truly great' Daley Thompson said when the 'pretty damn good' Dean Macey won a Decathlon silver at the World Championships - "Let's not forget - he came second".

   And that's what happened here to Fisher. Is he better than Luke Donald, Paul Casey, Sergio Garcia - all of whom have yet to win one major between them? Somehow, I doubt it.

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