Fisher's ready for title bid

England's Ross Fisher will hope to banish the memories of his last-day collapse in the BMW Championship in tomorrow's final round of the KLM Open in Zandvoort.

Fisher shares the lead with compatriot David Carter and New Zealand's Steve Alker on nine under par at Kennemer Golf Club after a third round 68.

The 26-year-old from Surrey also led going into the last round at his home course Wentworth in the European Tour's flagship event in May, only to crash to a closing 84 and slump to a share of 39th place.

Fisher said: ‘Wentworth was fantastic for three days and then disastrous for one but that's golf.

‘I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous because it's my home club and I've watched countless tournaments there at the BMW Championship or World Matchplay.

‘To be leading the event was pretty overwhelming and it obviously put some extra pressure on me.

‘It was one of those days where everything I tried didn't come off but I had to suck it up because I had a lot of friends and family watching.

‘I know I'm ready to win and I will win, whether that's this week, next week or somewhere down the line.

‘I know I've got the game to do it. For three days here I've played some pretty good golf, the first two days were close to flawless.’

Instead of that Wentworth wash-out, Fisher will look to draw on a happier experience when in contention for the Dubai Desert Classic earlier in the year.

Consecutive rounds of 65 gave him the halfway lead and he played alongside Ernie Els and Henrik Stenson in round three and then Tiger Woods and Niclas Fasth in the final round.

Fisher – who shot 71 on both days to eventually finish fifth – added: ‘That was an amazing experience and a great thrill.

‘A lot of players wait their whole career and this is only my second year on tour and I've played with the best player in the world.

‘I take a lot from that and the fact Tiger said some nice things about my game afterwards.’

David Carter held a two-shot lead overnight but three-putted three times in his 71 and bogeyed the last to lose the outright lead.

The 35-year-old is the only one of the three leaders to have won a European Tour title, although that came back in the Irish Open in 1998, the same year he also won the World Cup for England with Nick Faldo.

Englishman Carter, who almost died in Dubai in 1997 when he required emergency brain surgery after collapsing in his hotel room said: ‘I suppose I would have taken being in a tie for the lead at the end of the day.

‘The wind was from a completely different direction today and threw me on a few holes but I'm still in with a chance.

‘The golf was not that pretty at times but that's also part of the fun. Tiger Woods makes it look so easy but this is what it's really like for us mere mortals, especially when you haven't won for a while.

‘But I think I will take a lot of positives from today. Not many people on that leaderboard have won on the European Tour so hopefully I can use a little bit of the experience that I've had.

‘You have to get used to not sleeping so well and being a bit jumpy in the mornings but I can't run away from that.

‘Once I'm up on the tee I enjoy it and I learnt a lot from today, how I felt and how I coped and hopefully tomorrow will be better.’

Former Ryder Cup player Phillip Price, Ireland's David Higgins, France's Thomas Levet and Holland's Joost Luiten share fourth place two shots off the lead, while former Open champion Paul Lawrie and fellow Scot Stephen Gallacher are another stroke back.