When Oliver Fisher came fifth as an amateur at Qualifying School in November, he became, at 18, the youngest Briton to gain his card on the European Tour. In the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles on Sunday, the Essex teenager secured his card for 2008. Here he reflects on his season and what the future holds.

The highlight of the year was coming out of the scorer’s hut at Gleneagles knowing that I had secured my card for next season. I have had a few good weeks, but this tops them all. To go round in 67 in the final round and to get my first top-ten finish as a professional felt really good. It does not mean that I can relax, but it does give me the freedom that comes with knowing that I don’t have to go back to Q School.

Now I want a good finish to the season. If I keep working on my game, I’ll give myself more chances to win. It would be great to finish in the top 60 in the Order of Merit [he is ranked No 96] and get to play in the Volvo Masters at Valderrama at the end of the year. A couple of good weeks, starting in Switzerland this week, and who knows?

I always believe that you should set high targets. I sat down with Stuart Foames, my mind coach, and Brendan Taylor, my manager, at the beginning of the year and we said: “Top 60, but don’t forget the most important thing is to secure your card. That, in itself, would be a great achievement.” It is quite tough coming out here for the first time. You have to get used to all the travelling and playing on new courses every week. You have to learn to stand on your own two feet pretty quickly. Luckily, I have had my dad [Rupert] caddying for me. It is all new to him, too, so we have been learning the ropes together.

When you arrive on tour, you tend to spend the first few weeks on the practice ground looking at who is there. It takes a while to settle in, but it was good to have won my card at tour school because it meant I had earned the right to be here. In South Africa, I was chuffed when Ernie Els came over to talk to me. He had seen that I had come through Q School and was about to play my first year and he wanted to wish me luck. That was typical of the man.

It is important, though, to keep watching the guys who are good because there is obviously something they are doing that sets them apart. I played with Paul Casey in the third round of the Abu Dhabi Championship in January and, although we started the day on the same score, I finished 53rd and he won. That taught me that a good couple of rounds is all it takes and you can have a win under your belt.

The past couple of weeks have been tough. I knew that I had some work to do to keep my card and then I missed the cut at the Scandinavian Masters and the KLM Open. The key is to stick at it and never to give up. That is Tiger Woods’s philosophy and I have made it mine.

What has surprised me is the strength in depth. It is amazing. At times, I have played well this year and finished 30th. At first you come away feeling deflated because you know that that standard of play would have won you the tournament in amateur golf. But you soon learn that this is anything but amateur golf. If you want to be up there with the best, you need to play with the best. It is as simple as that.

I think I am lucky in that I love what I do. I do not get much down time and, although it may sound boring, I really enjoy working on my game with Chris Jenkins (who has been my coach since I was 9) and particularly going to the gym and working on the programme that Pure Sports Medicine has set me. It is addictive, but when I do have time off, I like to chill out with my friends.

I have recently bought a flat back home in Chigwell – it is five minutes from mum and dad’s, so I still pop back there for dinner – and it is nice to have my own space.

In the long term, I would love to get into the top 50 in the world and I would love to mix the two tours: part Europe, part America. So, I have got to keep working hard and, hopefully, everything will fall into place. I am certainly enjoying the journey.