After an 8 on the 5th hole ends British Open title hopes, Fisher returns to expectant wife

Fisher flops at British Open, heads for fatherhood

TURNBERRY, Scotland — After Ross Fisher’s British Open title chances vanished with a quadruple bogey eight at Turnberry on Sunday, he was ready to go home and await his first child.

With his wife Joanne already four days late in her pregnancy, Fisher had other things on his mind when he went out as one of the leading contenders in the final round of 138th British Open on Sunday.

Despite taking the lead with birdies at the first two holes, he ran into the par-4 fifth and his title hopes disappeared in the tangling rough on either side of the fairway.

His tee shot landed in the thick rough on the right and he was unable to move it more than a few feet with his second. Trying again, he could only hack it over the fairway into the rough on the other side and he wound up taking a penalty drop.

“It’s a shame, but I fought all the way and just one bad swing and cost me an eight,” the 28-year-old Englishman said. “But that’s golf. I hung in there as best as I could and fought to the end and was hitting good shots.

“Even after the eight I hit a great tee shot what I thought on seven, the wind just never moved it. I hit a great tee shot on eight and the wind never moved it and it cost me two bogeys.”

Asked if he’d heard anything from his wife, he said: “No, not yet. I’ve just switched my phone on, so I’ll finish with you guys here and try to get out of here and hopefully Jo is fine, and fingers crossed, next couple of days I’ll become a dad. So I’m looking forward to it.”

The eight contributed to a 75 in his final round and he finished 2-over 282, tied for 13th. Fisher came close to a major triumph a month ago when he was tied for third after three rounds of the U.S. Open only to finish fifth behind surprise winner Lucas Glover at Bethpage Black.

“Anytime you can put yourself into contention, this is what not only myself but what every golfer dreams of doing,” he said. “We want to perform in the biggest and the best tournaments, and I’m no different. The U.S. Open was a great experience, and I took a lot from there. And the form coming into this week was obviously very good.

“It’s been a great week, and I’m just glad that I was here for the four days.”