COROWA’S Marcus Fraser believes he can force his way into the world’s top 50 golfers,
The Border star is one of the hottest golfers in the country after impressive second-place finishes at both the Australian Masters and PGA championships late last year.
His blazing finish to the year has pushed his ranking to No. 99, only the second time he has been “up with the big boys”.
Fraser, 33, flies to the Middle East on Sunday to kick-start his new campaign, brimming with self-belief.
“Breaking into the top 50 is definitely within reach and definitely achievable,” Fraser said yesterday.
“The finish to last year was as good as I’ve played in any part of my career.
“I’ve always felt like a steady sort of player but I felt like I took it to another level late last year.
“It was nice to get some results in there and have a good finish to the year.
“It wasn’t like me.
“Normally I’m up and down, so finishing the year like that really was a bonus.
“Now I’ve got to try to set some goals and try to get into the top 50.
“Hopefully, I can carry that form over — you never know what can happen if you keep working hard and have a bit go your way.
“Hopefully, it’s a good year and I can try to give that top 50 a really good shot.”
Fraser, who has earned more than $4 million since turning pro in 2002, said his hot finish to the year — which included a nail-biting playoff loss to Greg Chalmers in the Australian PGA Championship at Coolum — had given him a much-needed confidence boost.
“I’ve always been a steady player but never consistently got to the level I was at the end of last year,” he said.
“Hopefully it was a confidence boost more than anything.
“We all back ourselves as players but to go in and play well week in, week out, is what we want to do.
“That was the first time in my career that I’ve really done that.
“That was the big thing I took out of it.”
Fraser plans to ramp up his schedule after injuries slowed him early last year.
Australia’s ninth ranked golfer suffered a prolapsed disc in his neck in late 2010, an injury that required a replacement synthetic disc, carbon-fibre cage and a metal plate.
“With all the problems I had with my neck, I wasn’t even sure if I was going to play too much golf again,” Fraser said.
“To play the way I did at the end of the year was pretty rewarding after a lot of hard work.
“It was either have the operation or don’t play golf so it was a pretty easy decision.
“I think I’m playing about 30 events this year whereas, because of my neck, I only played about 20 last year.
“Hopefully, I can chip away at the points and get the occasional win which is what we all play for.”
Fraser was back in Corowa yesterday as part of an MDGA junior golf initiative, with four of the MDGA’s brightest youngsters playing nine holes with the Corowa-raised star.
In a feast for Border golf fans, women’s professional Lindsey Wright was also back home, mingling with juniors at Thurgoona.
Email a friend