Zach Fischer may be the best American Underdog story at this week’s Open Championship. In fact, if you’re looking for someone to root for at Hoylake, you could do a lot worse than Zack Fischer.
The 33-year-old Texan is the epitome of a journeyman pro. He’s cashed a six-figure check on the PGA TOUR and has gone the mini-tour and state open routes, wondering if it was all worth it. He’s won Q-School twice and, by his own admission, took the craziest path possible to the Open Championship.
“I guess you’d call it a roller coaster, literally,” Fischer tells MyGolfSpy. “I was on top of what I thought my golf world was back in 2013. I qualified for the U.S. Open that year and won Q-School for the first time.”
And he didn’t beat a field of ham-and-eggers, either. The 2013 Q-School included the likes of Justin Thomas, Tony Finau, Daniel Berger and Max Homa.
“I thought I was going to be one of the young guns that gets on the PGA TOUR really quickly.”
It didn’t work out that way. But his path to Royal Liverpool has taken detours on and off the Korn Ferry Tour, to China (almost) and to Buenos Aires. Not to mention a quick stop in Sycamore, Ill.
You see, the ultimate American Underdog is the first pro to game another American Underdog, Sub 70 Golf, in a major.
Zack Fischer and Sub 70 Golf
If you’re an equipment geek, the first appearance for Sub 70 Golf in a major is noteworthy. But the story really is Fischer’s journey.
“We’re just a small part of this,” says Sub 70 owner Jason Hiland. “It’s fun for us but Zack is the one that made this happen. If you want to talk about fortitude, not giving up and building it brick by brick, it’s this guy.”
2013 was the first year that a Q-School winner didn’t get an automatic PGA TOUR card. Instead, it earned Fischer a spot on what’s now the Korn Ferry Tour. At only 23, Fischer found he wasn’t quite ready for prime time.
“I played well but didn’t make the top 75 to retain my status. I missed the deadline to go back to Q-School but had enough conditional status to get some Korn Ferry starts the next year.”
He barely missed making the PGA TOUR in 2015 and then went through a self-described rough patch.
“I really just lost my game mentally. I couldn’t keep the driver on the planet. I really thought I was going to quit. I was mentally exhausted and really tired of fighting it.”
Fate, however, had other plans.
The Valero Texas Open
Fischer was still kicking it around in 2019. He didn’t have full-time Korn Ferry status and was forced to go through Monday qualifying. In March of that year, he missed qualifying for the Korn Ferry event in Savannah so he decided to try qualifying for the Valero Texas Open.
“If I had made the Savannah qualifier the week before and if I had made the Savannah event, I wouldn’t have been able to play in the Valero qualifier.”
Fischer not only qualified, he made the cut, On Sunday fired a 66 to finish in a tie for 14th and cash a six-figure paycheck.
Fischer had been on staff with TaylorMade up to that point. But despite the Valero finish, Fischer still had no official status on any tour so TaylorMade dropped him. That’s when he hooked up with Sub 70.
“Ryan French, the Monday Q Info guy on Twitter, was friends with Zack and put him on to us,” explains Hiland. “Zack was supposed to play PGA China but then COVID hit. That tour got canceled and we started working with him right away.”
“I direct-messaged Jason and said, ‘Hey, your irons look awesome. I’d like to try them out,’” says Fischer. “And Jason says, ‘You don’t have to play them. I’d just like to send you some.’ So I started playing them and went, ‘Man, these things are awesome,’”
At that point, Fischer had no playing options other than mini-tours, state opens and Monday qualifiers.
“He was starting at ground zero again,” says Hiland.
Dont Cry For Me, Argentina
With no place to play, it was back to the Korn Ferry Monday qualifying grind.
Fischer considered Q-School again but a $6,000 entry fee with no guarantees made him think twice. Out of nowhere, a private benefactor offered to pony up the money. Fischer repaid the favor by becoming the first person to win Q-School twice. That got him back on the Korn Ferry Tour and into the 2022 Argentine Open.
First played in 1905, the Argentine Open is golf’s fourth-oldest national championship and its winner gets a spot in the Open Championship. Past winners include such legends as Jimmy Demaret, Tom Weiskopf, Mark O’Meara, Jim Furyk and homegrown hero Roberto De Vicenzo.
“Zack never brags,” says Hiland. “But he said, ‘I’m gonna win this thing and get into the Open Championship.’”
“I go down there and get super sick. I mean super sick,” says Fischer. “I’m dragging around the course the first two rounds, carrying my own bag.”
Almost miraculously, on Sunday Fischer came up 18 with a one-shot lead over Sweden’s Linus Lilliedahl.
“He had a chip from the right side of the green and I was on the back of the green and lagged to about four feet. He chipped it to about 18 feet. And he makes the putt and I go dag-gummit, if he had just missed, I’d have two putts to win.”
The final round was on YouTube TV. Fischer’s wife and parents were watching as were Hiland and the Sub 70 Golf staff in Sycamore. Fischer drilled the putt to punch his ticket to Liverpool.
“It was great that I won the tournament and got into the Open. But I’m still sick as can be and thinking if I don’t make this putt, I might die in Argentina.”
What’s In The Bag, Sub 70 Golf Style?
Fischer is bringing the Sub 70 Golf TAIII irons and JB Forged wedges to Liverpool.
“That’s our most popular iron for the guys playing professionally,” says Hiland. “It comes from Tommy (Armour III) helping design that club and all his years on Tour. It has a little more forgiveness than a normal blade but he can get the flight control, the feel, the trajectory that he’s looking for.”
“I’m pretty easy to fit because I really have no club knowledge at all,” admits Fischer. “I’m not the type to say, ‘You gotta take a little off the sole or take some bounce off it.’ I just don’t know enough about it. But I do know if the turf interaction isn’t right. I’ll just tell Jason, ‘Hey, can y’all do something about this?’”
“The JB wedges have that flat spot in the middle of the sole so when you open them up it takes some bounce off,” says Hiland. “That wedge should play quite nicely for those really firm conditions. We did build some low-bounce versions for him, just in case. He’s going to have to play the practice rounds and see what works.”
Fischer also plays a TaylorMade driver and is thinking of swapping out his fairway wood for a Callaway utility iron. “I’ve been working on hitting punchy shots with all of my clubs,” he says.
Oddly, Fischer is hoping the weather goes full-Open Championship this week.
“I want the full experience,” he laughs. “I want to be miserable. I want the wind blowing 35 miles per hour. I don’t want it to be sunny and nice.”
His Biggest Fan
Fischer spent last week enjoying the sights of London before heading to Liverpool with his No. 1 supporter, wife Katie.
“If it wasn’t for her working four jobs, I wouldn’t have been playing golf after COVID. She’s always found a way to support me financially and emotionally.”
Katie and Zack married in 2014 and she spent the first year of their marriage as Zack’s caddie. It was during that time she saw another side of her new husband.
“She got to see the biggest baby side of me. She saw all my whining and hissy fits inside the ropes and she still supported me. Everybody says I outkicked my coverage and I guess that’s true.”
And while Katie is clearly Zack’s No. 1 fan, Hiland isn’t too far behind.
“Zack’s a really good iron player and (Royal Liverpool) could be a really good setup for him,” he says. “He’s Tour-average long but this isn’t a golf course you have to overpower.
“There’s a chess match to be played and he’s a really good iron player and a really good putter.”
How good of an iron player? How does a hole-in-one during Monday’s practice round at Royal Liverpool grab you?
“One of the coolest moments of my life,” Fischer said on his Twitter feed.
Seriously, how can you not root for this guy?
Steve (the real one, pithy and insufferable)
9 months ago
He made the cut ahead of a lot of big names. Congratulations. Not a good round on Saturday. That has him toward the back, never got anything going.