THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 17, 1995 TAG: 9505170238
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
Nansemond-Suffolk Academy's Jay Fisher is a man who believes in letting his golf clubs do his talking.
Too bad his clubs can't really talk. For Fisher is hardly the type of person to go on at length about himself - or anything else, for that matter.
``You want to interview Jay Fisher?'' one school official inquired. ``Don't expect him to say much.''
``People say if you play a round with Jay, he's going to say 18 words - `Birdie, par, par. . . .'' N-SA coach Rick Van Orden said.
Van Orden doesn't mind, however. For it seems that Fisher's quiet nature is one of the main reasons why the senior closed his high school career last week as one of the most celebrated golfers in the history of the TCIS.
``He's a pretty impressive all-around player, but one of the best things about him is his demeanor,'' Van Orden said. ``Nothing flusters him - or gets him excited.''
Not even the sizzling round Fisher turned in last week during the TCIS championships at the Honey Bee Golf Club. In his final TCIS appearance, Fisher shot a 5-under par 65, including a sizzling 29 on the back nine.
He opened his day with an eagle on the par-5 18th hole. Twelve holes later, he topped that by lofting a 140-yard 8-iron tee shot into the cup on one hop for his first-hole-in-one.
Naturally, Fisher took it all in stride.
``We asked the guy he was playing with (Jack Tsai of Hampton Roads Academy) what (Fisher) said,'' related N-SA headmaster Bill Owen, ``and Jay just said `I guess that's an ace.' ''
Shots like that earned Fisher an easy five-stroke victory, more than enough for him to collect The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star Athlete of the Week award.
But while the hole-in-one was unexpected, a Fisher victory was anything but. A five-time All-TCIS selection, Fisher earned medalist honors in the league tournament for the second straight year. His stroke average - 72.3 over 15 matches - was a league best, and he has received a partial golf scholarship to attend Furman University.
He's even starting to loosen up a little. Although apparently no one saw it, Fisher actually let it all hang out after his hole-in-one. ``I did like this,'' said Fisher as he eased two clenched fists into the air and gave them a slight jiggle.
A double fist-pump? Jay, you're out of control. by CNB