Ross threatens to be boss as PGA could have a Fisher king

Contending for a title in the past two major championships has convinced England's Ross Fisher that he has what it takes to be a title threat whenever golf's greatest gather.

So when the new father tees off Thursday morning at the 91st PGA Championship, he will do so confident in his chances to conquer the lengthened 7,674-yard Hazeltine layout and capture his first major title.

"I come into every major championship now feeling and believing I can win and feeling like my game is good enough to win," Fisher said.

"This week is no different. I feel comfortable on the course. It's very, very long so that should suit me quite well. If I can get the putter working I feel like I've got a really good chance of competing."

After giving a hint of things to come by winning the 2008 European Open and reaching the semi-finals of the World Match-Play, Fisher finished fifth at the US Open and shared 13th last month in the British Open at Turnberry.

"The US Open was a great experience. I walked away from there disappointed finishing fifth. It just shows I had a real good chance of winning that," said Fisher.

"The Open, but for one loose tee shot, I could have had a real serious chance of winning the Open."

Fisher has tried to forget the fifth-hole blunder that took him out of contention and led to a final-round 75.

"That's totally gone, history," he said. "But even after that I still had a good chance of winning the Open. The last 10 holes I had eight birdie chances and seven of them just missed the edge. I managed to block that out of my head and play some solid golf."

Figuring out exactly what has enabled him to raise his game this year is something that has eluded Fisher.

"If I knew what it was, that would be great," Fisher said. "I guess I'm just getting more and more used to being in the major championships."

Success has not made him greedy even as Fisher fields questions about the possibilities of becoming a major champion before his 30th birthday.

"I'm only 28 so I've got plenty of time on my side," Fisher said. "It would be nice to say I won a major championship before I'm 30 but I'm not really thinking about kicking myself if I don't win one before I turn 30.

"As long as I'm putting myself into contention, that's good enough for me."