UT Arlington 2011 men's golf alumnus Zack Fischer competed last week at The Open Championship from Royal Liverpool Golf Club. This page provides brief recaps of each of his rounds, and below is a comprehensive preview – including quotes from Fischer – heading into the tournament.
76) Zack Fischer: +13
RD 1: 71 (E) | RD 2: 73 (+2) | RD 3: 75 (+4) | RD 4: 78 (+7)
Sunday – Final Round: 78 (+7)
The worst weather day of the tournament waited until the final round as rain was consistent throughout the nearly 12 hours of play. Fischer hadn't made any score higher than a 6 all week, but on Sunday he made three 7s which made it impossible to recover.
Fischer did make three birdies on the round, however, with those coming on the 6th, 8th and much-discussed new par-3 17th.
Despite the disappointing finish, Fischer still made the cut – which is something notable names like Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Phil Mickelson, Collin Morikawa and Tony Finau failed to accomplish.
Saturday – Round Three: 75 (+4)
Fischer started the day with consecutive pars before rolling in a 12-foot birdie putt on the 3rd hole to quickly get to -1 for the round and +1 for the tournament.
However, that would unfortunately be the only circle he put on his card all round. He followed that birdie up with four-straight pars and remained at -1 heading to the 8th hole, which is where be commenced a stretch of three bogeys in a row and four in a five-hole stretch.
He registered pars on holes 13-17 before finishing his round with a bogey on the 18th.
Friday – Round Two: 73 (+2)
Fischer teed off shortly after 7 a.m. local time in England and began his round with six-straight pars before a double bogey on the par-4 8th. However, he quickly erased one of those shots with a birdie on the par-3 9th. With the pin tucked in the back left, his 230-yard tee shot ended up six feet behind the flag to set up the birdie.
Making the turn in 1-over 36, he carded a bogey on the par-4 10th but got that back a couple of holes later by making a 15-footer on the tough par-4 12th.
Fischer then ran into trouble with consecutive bogeys on the par-4 14th and par-5 15th – the latter of which required a pitch out from a fairway pot bunker – and he resided at +3 and outside the cut line at the time heading to the par-5 18th.
Taking less than driver with internal out of bounds all up the right side, Fischer hit his tee shot just over 250 yards. A nearly 290-yard second shot trickled just off the fairway on the left, leaving him 50 yards to a front right pin. That pitch ended up below the hole and a 15-footer for birdie awaiting.
Again, outside the cut line before he hit the putt, Fischer dropped the 15-foot, 7-inch putt into the bottom of the cup to cap a round of 73, but more importantly almost guarantee himself a tee time on the weekend of his second-career major.
Thursday – Round One: 71 (E) | T-32
A strong back 9 propelled Fischer to an even-par 71 and he resides just five shots off the lead following day one.
After opening pars on the first two holes, Fischer was a victim of the much-discussed internal out of bounds at Royal Liverpool on the 3rd hole. After a 232-yard tee shot found the fairway, his approach from 201 yards narrowly missed the right side of the green and ended up OB en route to a double bogey.
He got one of those shots back by taking advantage of the easiest hole on the course at par-5 5th with a two-putt birdie. However, consecutive bogeys on the par-3 6th – where he made a hole-in-one during Monday's practice round (more info later) – and on the par-4 7th – in which he needed to pitch out of a fairway bunker sideways – moved him to +3 through seven holes.
But that would be the last square Fischer put on his card the rest of the round. A bounce-back birdie on the par-4 8th from 11 feet put him at +2 and set the tone for the back 9, where he would come in with a 2-under 34 after going out in 2-over 37 on the par-71 layout.
After giving himself birdie looks inside 22 feet on holes 10 and 11, he got a 13-footer to drop for birdie on the par-4 12th to move to +1. A solid up-and-down from right of the green on 13 kept things moving in the right direction and started a stretch of five-consecutive pars.
On the 600-yard par-5 18th – with internal OB all up the right side – Fischer wisely piped a 310-yard drive into the left edge of the fairway and then carried his second shot 289 yards onto the green to just outside 30 feet. A stress-free two-putt birdie capped an even-par 71.
HOYLAKE, England – When the 151st Open Championship from famed Royal Liverpool Golf Club gets underway in early morning hours on Thursday, UT Arlington will be represented in the 156-player field by 2011 alumnus Zack Fischer.
Fischer will tee off at 6:09 a.m. CT (12:09 p.m. local) on Thursday before a 1:08 a.m. CT (7:08 a.m. local) beginning for the 2nd round Friday. The top 70 players and ties make the cut to the final two rounds on Saturday and Sunday. NBC Sports is providing coverage all week from the opening tee shot to the final putt (all times Central):
Thursday: 12:30-3 a.m. (Peacock)
| 3 a.m-2 p.m. (USA Network)
| 2-3 p.m. (Peacock)
Friday: 12:30-3 a.m. (Peacock)
| 3 a.m-2 p.m. (USA Network)
| 2-3 p.m. (Peacock)
Saturday: 4-6 a.m. (USA Network)
| 6 a.m.-2 p.m. (NBC)
Sunday: 3-6 a.m. (USA Network)
| 6 a.m.-1 p.m. (NBC)
* Streaming: Peacock | NBC Sports App | NBCSports.com
While tournament action is still two days away, Fischer has already recorded a lifetime memory during Monday's practice round with a hole-in-one on the 201-yard 6th hole. Ironically enough that ace came in front of a full gallery (more on that later) and alongside playing partners Scottie Scheffler, Jason Day and Billy Horschel.
HOW HE GOT HERE
Rewind to the first weekend in December, and Fischer was competing in his first PGA Tour Latinoamerica event in Argentina. With Fischer holding a one-shot lead on the 72nd hole at Nordelta Golf Club in Buenos Aires, Sweden's Linus Lilliedahl nearly chipped in for birdie which would have forced a playoff at 18-under par with Fischer.
Instead, Fischer – who holds UTA's career scoring average record at 73.10 – needed two putts from nearly 50 feet to win outright. A lag putt left a nerve-inducing four-footer, which he rolled into the bottom of the cup to secure an exemption into his second major championship start.
"It didn't really hit me at the time that I had qualified since The Open was still more than half a year away," Fischer said while waiting to board the first of his flights to get oversees last week. "It really clicked when I registered in May and started really preparing, but it still seems surreal and it's going to be really, really fun."
A WHOLE NEW EXPERIENCE
Fischer arrived in London last Wednesday, July 12, along with his wife, Kaitlin; 3-year-old daughter, Hallie; parents, Ronnie and Beth; and mother-in-law. After spending Thursday in England's capital city, the caravan traversed about four hours to the northwest maritime city of Liverpool on Friday, where Fischer began his preparation.
That preparation – practice rounds at Royal Liverpool on both Friday and Saturday – were the first instances of the Texarkana, Texas, native putting a tee in the ground on a traditional links-style course; in fact, when he landed in London three days prior it was the first time the 33-year-old had even stepped foot in the United Kingdom.
"I haven't played in many tournaments – and there aren't many tournaments period – where people pay to watch the practice rounds," Fischer remarked in reference to Royal Liverpool's gates opening to the public for practice rounds Sunday through Wednesday. "It's going to be very weird to have people cheer while I'm practicing for a tournament, so it's nice to have two days with the course closed to be myself with my family and take in those memories."
THE PREP WORK
As for golf memories, Fischer has relied on his swing coach, Geoff Jones, to harken back to his own experience trying to qualify for The Open, which he missed by one shot in the late 1980s.
"He has a lot of experience playing links-style golf," Fischer stated. "It's going to be windy – which makes me even more excited – so we've been working on trying to hit more low, bullet-type shots that don't get higher than 20 feet off the ground and get a lot of chase. It's tough to prepare, but I feel like I've done everything I can."
Fischer – who has been practicing and visualizing those shots on courses in the Little Rock, Ark., area – also went to another source to prepare; one that Jones didn't have at his disposal.
"I've gone on YouTube and watched the final rounds of both Tiger (Woods) and Rory (McIlroy)," Fischer commented about the 2006 and 2014 Champion Golfer of the Year, respectively, at Royal Liverpool. "I think the course this week is going to be totally different from then – when Tiger won it was firm and fast, and when Rory won the wind didn't blow either, but it was soft."
The wind is expected to blow this week, with forecasts calling for 10-15 mph consistently and gusts up to 20 mph. Rain is anticipated each day as well with temperatures in the low 60s. In other words: more traditional Open Championship weather.
Knowing that forecast, Fischer's biggest focus this week will be on lag putting and avoiding the penal fairway and greenside bunkers.
"You're not going to be able to hit it close to the hole very often, and you're going to need to make quite a few 20+ footers for birdie or par," Fischer surmised. "And stay out of the bunkers no matter what you do. Just do not get in the bunkers."
BEEN HERE BEFORE … KINDA
Fischer – the only person in the history of the PGA TOUR/Korn Ferry Tour Q-School to win medalist honors outright twice – has been on this stage before, making his only other major start at the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club. And he got there thanks to gutting his way to a 12-hole, two-day playoff win over four-time PGA TOUR winner Ryan Palmer in what is believed to be the longest playoff in U.S. Open sectional qualifying history.
While Merion – a narrow, tree-lined traditional Northeast course – allowed only roughly 25,000 spectators a day to enter its small footprint outside Philadelphia, Royal Liverpool will have no such issues as preliminary estimates call for more than 250,000 fans to walk through the gates this week on the wide-open, seaside layout.
Why that matters: for Fischer it's the biggest takeaway from his only other major experience.
"I played a practice round with Jim Furyk (at Merion) and I remember asking him 'what do you do because this is really strange,'" Fischer recalled as people followed his group and cheered on during a tune-up session. "With there being 10 times the amount of people this week it's going to be a totally new and exciting experience."
UTA ROOTS
A full-time member on the Korn Ferry Tour, Fischer will compete with the world's best this week as he continues his pursuit of a PGA TOUR card. That prep started more than a decade ago at UTA, where Fischer capped a highly decorated career as a three-time Southland Conference all-league member and 2009 SLC Individual Co-Medalist.
Fischer completed 129 rounds at UTA from 2007-11. He still holds the program record for career rounds at – or below – par with 54, and his 110 counting scores remain the 5th-most all-time. He also resides 5th on the program list with 363 career birdies, and is tied for 7th with 10 career eagles.
And he won't be the only former Mav at Royal Liverpool this week. Fischer's former roommate, Hunter Brown '13, is a current professor at the University of Oxford and will be making the trek to support his old teammate.
PROFESSIONAL CAREER
While he may only have two previous major rounds under his belt, Fischer has plenty of professional experience. The Open will mark his ninth career PGA TOUR start, and he has 132 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour to boot.
He's finished as high as T-14 on the PGA TOUR – that coming at the 2019 Valero Texas Open – and his last event was just this past November at the Houston Open, making the cut and posting a pair of 69s.
On the Korn Ferry Tour, he's racked up 11 top-10 performances, six top-5 showings and three 3rd-place finishes. This year alone he's got three top-25s, highlighted by a T-10 at Arlington's Veritex Bank Championship in April at the home of UTA golf – Texas Rangers Golf Club (TRGC).
GOAL FOR THE WEEK
TRGC didn't exist in its current state when Fischer attended UTA, but he'll still look to feed off that great finish there this week at Royal Liverpool. Fischer's goal for the week is 'obviously to win,' but when asked what he would consider a good week, it's simply being in contention on the back nine Sunday.
"If I'm within two shots of the lead going into the final nine holes then anything can happen."
THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
For more information about the The Open and to follow along all week, visit theopen.com.
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ABOUT TEXAS RANGERS GOLF CLUB
Opened in February of 2019, the state-of-the-art Texas Rangers Golf Club is the new home of UTA's men's and women's golf programs. The world's only Major League Baseball-branded golf course, TRGC is the result of a $24 million renovation and updated routing of the former Chester W. Ditto Golf Course.
The Home of UTA Golf was designed by UTA alumni John Colligan and Trey Kemp of Arlington-based Colligan Golf Design. It features an expansive 23-acre practice area, and a new 33,871-square-foot clubhouse features a full-service restaurant and bar, covered patio overlooking the golf course, pro shop, locker rooms and numerous rental and event spaces. For more information about TRGC, click here.
