Another Central grad cracks U.S. Senior Open field
Former all-America honoree Darin Fisher fired a 3-under-par 69 and will be among two Central College alumni in the 45th U.S. Senior Open next month.
PELLA-Former all-America honoree Darin Fisher fired a 3-under-par 69 and will be among two Central College alumni in the 45th U.S. Senior Open next month.
A 1997 grad, Fisher joins 1987 grad Joe Jaspers, who was highlighted earlier, in the 156-player field at the tournament June 26-29 at the East Course at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Fisher won the final-stage qualifier at the par-72 Shadow Ridge Country Club in Omaha Tuesday. He was among four players to advance out of the 43-player field. He gained a spot in Omaha by carding a 2-under-par 70 for third place in a 44-player field in the initial local qualifying tournament May 5 at Bear Path Country Club in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
There were 32 local qualifiers nationwide and 12 final-stage qualifiers. The U.S. Senior Open is open to professional golfers, and amateurs with a Handicap Index® not exceeding 2.4, who are at least 50 years of age by the start of championship play.
Fisher was a longtime club professional working at several courses in the region, including serving as head professional at The Preserve on Rathbun Lake from 2008-23. In February he was named the men’s and women’s golf coach at William Penn University.
As a player he advanced to the PGA Tour’s Stage II Qualifying School in 2004. He has qualified for PGA National Club Championship. 11 times, placing 26th in 2021, and twice competed in the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic. He won Iowa PGA Section championships in 2016 and 2018 along with three Iowa PGA Match Play titles and is an Iowa PGA board member.
At Central, Fisher received all-America distinction by tying for 11th at the 1997 NCAA Division III Championships, leading the Dutch to a seventh-place national team finish. He was a three-time NCAA tourney participant and a member of three conference championship squads. He was also a three-time All-Iowa Conference honoree and the school’s 1997 Ryerson MVP Award winner.
This is Fisher’s first year of eligibility for the senior event, having turned 50 a few months ago.
“This is the first big one that I’ve had a chance to enter,” he said. “I skipped some Iowa section (PGA) events specifically to prepare for the U.S. Senior Open qualifier, and it paid off.”
Fisher wasn’t sure where he stood as his Omaha qualifier event proceeded but his son, Connor, served as caddy and kept a close eye on the live scoring app on his phone.
“When we got to 2-under, I knew that we were probably in a decent position and he started mentioning to me that pars were our friend, so I kind of got an idea that we were in the ballpark,” he said.
But his play on No. 17, a downhill, 198-yard par-3, sealed it. He used a 5-iron off the tee.
“I probably made the best swing of my year and hit it to 10 feet,” Fisher said. “I made birdie there and then I kind of took a deep breath and thought, just get it in the house and we should be OK.”
More than OK. Fisher was three shots below the cut line.
“The last hole probably played 465 (yards),” he said. “A par-4, over water. I hit a great driver, a good 6-iron and then two-putted and there was a huge sigh of relief.”
Fisher is young by senior tournament standards, giving him an edge over some older competitors who may have lost a little distance over the years.
“In the practice round, I played with a couple of really good amateurs and where I was hitting eights and nines (irons) into the greens, they were hitting fives and hybrids,” Fisher said. “And the course was playing super-long, almost 7,000 yards and it was wet. So I knew that if I got it in the fairway, my length would be a huge advantage.”
The transition from club professional to his new role as a collegiate golf coach has also helped his game, he said.
“Physically, this is probably the best condition I’ve been in in 10 years, because I walk 25 miles a week (on golf courses for meets and practices),” he said. “And my putting has gotten better because when you’re coaching in college meets, you’re helping read 18 greens five times. So I really feel that has paid off. In the last qualifier, I really putted well.”
Consequently, he’s not daunted by the physical challenges the 7,264-yard, par-70 Broadmoor layout present. He’s more concerned about dealing with the environment surrounding one of the world’s pinnacle senior golf tournaments.
“I’ve played 20-25 rounds in Vail, Colorado in my career, so I’ve got an idea what the altitude does,” Fisher said. “The general rule is (altitude increases distance by) about 8-10% per club. So it doesn’t really scare me that it’s going to be longer. But it’s the atmosphere and the guys you’re playing with who are playing for their careers, and they’ve played in several of these. I think we’re just going to go and try to really soak it in and enjoy it.”
Fisher is well aware that the field includes two-time champion Bernhard Langer and former champions Jim Furyk, Colin Montgomerie, Steve Stricker and David Toms along with numerous PGA Tour Champions stars.
Yet Fisher also doesn’t think making the 36-hole cut would require an other worldly performance.The low 60 scorers and ties after two rounds in the tournament advance to play the final 36 holes on the weekend.
“I think that if I just played solid, like I played in Omaha, I feel like it’s definitely in the cards to have a good finish,” he said. “I mean, it’s going to be a U.S. Open set-up. It’s going to be long, the rough is going to be high, the greens are going to be fast. So if you’re not sharp, that probably is going to expose you. So in the next 30 days, I’m making sure that I’m doing something golf-related every day.”
Fisher will also draw on his experience in playing in the two John Deere Classics, which were PGA Tour events with thousands of spectators.
“I learned a ton,” he said. “The first time that I went there, I over-practiced. I was amped up, I was excited, I didn’t know what to think about the crowds. My emotions were all over the place. And it showed. I didn’t play very well. But the second time around, I measured my practice. In the practice rounds, I only played maybe 18 holes, total. I was able to collect myself and my nerves weren’t there. And, really, once you get into the round, it’s just back to competitive golf, only with a few more people around.”
Fisher expects to have several familiar faces in that crowd, including family members and friends from Albia, where he lives. He’s also getting shows of support from Central friends and teammates, including his former Dutch coach, Bob Bruns.
“Brad Wuhs is one of my closest friends in that class,” Fisher said. “He’s on a cruise right now but he even went somewhere to find some cell tower service just to call me.”
Jaspers has also connected with Fisher and they’re hoping to play together in a practice round in the first meeting of the two all-American Dutch golfers.
“There are so many guys that I look forward to seeing there,” Fisher said.
