Steven Fisk caused a surprise by becoming the brilliant winner of the Sanderson Farms Championship last night, overcoming a two-shot deficit in the final 18 holes against Garrick Higgo to win by two strokes. But who is Steven Fisk and how did a player who started the week ranked 183rd in the world and far from the top 100 in the FedEx Cup manage to play such high-level golf at such a tense moment?
The last two approach shots by the player born in Atlanta 28 years ago were more typical of any of the tour stars than of a golfer who had made just over half of the cuts in his rookie season on the PGA Tour and had only once finished in the top 10. The explanation for such precision with the irons can be found more than two decades ago when Fisk’s parents built him his own playground. But these ‘darts’ were accompanied by great success on the greens with a curious story behind them…
Let’s break it down. When Steven was just five years old, his parents built the Rum Creek Golf, a par-three course with a practice area where the new winner on the American circuit spent his childhood. That’s where what became a reality last night in Jackson began to take shape. “My parents built a par-three course when I was five years old. It was my playground throughout my childhood. That made me the iron player I am today,” Fisk acknowledged yesterday in his official press conference.
“The shot on 17 was exactly as we had visualised, taking advantage of the wind. On 18, I didn’t hit it as I wanted, but it turned out perfect. Now I truly know that I am good enough to win on the PGA Tour and it’s an incredible feeling,” he said after making a birdie on the penultimate hole of the day, leaving his approach shot half a metre from the flag, and repeating on the last flag with a sensational approach that he finished with a one-metre putt.
His improvement with the putter was another key to his victory, after a season in which he had struggled on the greens. A change that might have been influenced by something that happened on Friday, after the cut: “I’ve struggled a lot on the greens this year. My sports psychologist recommended I read Putting Out of Your Mind by Bob Rotella. I downloaded it on Friday and listened to a bit (in the audiobook version). It helped me focus on the target and trust that every putt had a chance.” If it worked for Fisk, there’s nothing to lose by trying it…
The winner of the Sanderson attended Georgia Southern University where he studied “Interdisciplinary Studies… it’s the degree you pursue when you want to be on the golf team,” a period of “four incredible years, where I met my wife and my best friends.” From there, a path to the elite passing through the PGA Tour of Canada in 2021, joining the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022 and earning the PGA Tour card last year, after winning once and achieving two second places, with a total of six top 10s, in the second division of American golf.
Unfortunately for Steven, his father, a significant part of his journey to becoming a golfer, couldn’t celebrate the victory with him and his wife. He passed away recently: “I think my dad pushed a couple of putts for me today… I miss him a lot. I know he would be very proud of how I played and how I kept calm.” A victory that Grayson Murray, a player who passed away last year under tragic circumstances and whose caddie accompanied Fisk, also couldn’t witness.
“Jay and the Murray family lost Grayson last year, and having him with me this week was very special. Tomorrow we will go together to his tournament in Raleigh,” he confessed after lifting the trophy at the Jackson Golf Club. “These autumn tournaments were a great opportunity for me. If you win, everything falls into place. I knew this tournament on Bermuda grass was a good opportunity for me. I had it marked for a long time,” he concluded. Said and done: victory, a million dollars in the bank, two more years of a card, and a place in the Masters and the PGA Championship. Not everyone has parents with a par-three course, but the book to improve with the putter by Bob Rotella is on Amazon for 10 euros… It’s worth a try.
