'It’s Pretty Cool' - Ross Fisher Latest DP World Tour Pro To Achieve Impressive Milestone

Not many players can say they've done this. According to our calculations, Ross Fisher is just the 49th player to reach 500 appearances on the DP World Tour.

That's pretty good going, and says a lot about the player Fisher is that he joins this exclusive list of names.

"It's pretty cool. It's obviously a unique milestone to achieve. I'd say when you first [go] out on tour, you never really have that goal in your mind," he said.

"But throughout the years that I've been on tour, I've seen some guys like Miguel [Miguel Angel Jimenez] and Howler [David Howell] and some other guys reach that milestone."

Fisher, who opened up with a level par round at the Dubai Desert Classic, has won five times on the DP World Tour and amassed nearly €20 million in prize money.

The Englishman might have traveled the world several times over over the last two decades, but he remembers his first event well.

"I got an invitation into the Ken Schofield Memorial at Woburn in 2004," he said.

"I think I played six events in '04. Went to qualifying school. Got through first stage, second stage, missed the cut in the finals and played the whole year on The Challenge Tour and managed to get through Challenge Tour, but it wasn't a great ranking back in 2005.

"So I went to Qualifying School and bettered my ranking. Got my card at the end of '05 in my first four events, and hit the ground running.

"I was last group in my first event in Volvo China and four weeks later, I was leading South Africa by five.

Fisher, part of Europe's winning Ryder Cup team at Celtic Manor in 2010, added: "It seems a lifetime ago but happy the body is still fit and able to move at 45, and what's this season, 20, 21 [tournaments] I think. It's pretty cool to be out here still."

THE 500 CLUB

The '500 club' is full of legends, and includes the likes of Sandy Lyle, Bernhard Langer, Jose Maria Olazabal, Ian Woosnam and Colin Montgomerie.

There's also a '700 club'.

In the Alfred Dunhill Championship in 2023, Howell overtook Spain's Jimenez at the top of the list as he moved onto 722 events.

Howell made his DP World Tour debut at the 1994 Benson and Hedges International Open, and he now sits on an in incredible 726 tournaments played.

Asked whether he will now be targeting 600 appearances, Fisher, who reached a career-high 17th in the Official World Golf Ranking, replied: "That's a long way off. In my career, I've played between 22 and 24 [tournaments a year], and if things aren't going so well, it's more like 28 to 30.

"I'd have to be going a few more years. But it's not out of possibility, that's for sure."

Sam Torrance was the first player to reach 700 tournaments, before being overtaken by Jimenez, who has now played 724 events.

The Scot finished his career on 714 DP World Tour appearances.