The Life of Rickie Fowler

Who had heard the name before June 2010? Although he had notched up two previous runner ups on the PGA Tour in the Waste Management Open in Phoenix in February and the Frys.com Open in October last year. Rickie Yutaka Fowler (the middle name comes from his Japanese Grandmother), turned pro near the end of 2009 after a sterling amateur career.

Fowler was ranked the number one amateur golfer in the world for 36 weeks but did never win a US Amateur. Fowler did play on a winning Walker Cup team (the amateur version of the Ryder Cup) and came 2nd in the Eisenhower Trophy (the pinnacle of amateur golf).

After Fowler turned pro at the end of 2009, he made an instant impact by finishing 2nd in the Frys.com open. Although the Memorial was Fowler’s third runner up, this is where he got noticed. Playing in one of the top fields of the year, in a tournament hosted by the golden bear, Jack Nicklaus, Fowler led going into the final round only to shoot a 73 and finish behind eventual winner, Justin Rose. This tournament catapulted Fowler into the top 50 in the world and ironically he is one place behind Rose in the World Rankings at 34.

The most prominent thing about Fowler is that he looks like he should be in a skating video, not stepping out onto the first tee. Wearing his tangerine pants, white jacket (with a tangerine top underneath) and a tangerine hat (pictured right), he certainly stood out (his fixation with tangerine is because he attended Oklahoma State University and their school colour is orange. With his hat shaped to look like that of a style similar to what 50 Cent would be seen in, you wondered how could this kid get away with it.

Tim Finchem, the director of the PGA Tour, must have seen $$$$$$$$ signs as soon as he saw Fowler step onto the course. Although not conventional clothes/colours, this kid is a promotional dream. Sportscenter highlights, sports illustrated, you name it, he’s been on it. MTV Cribs? Not yet but don’t count against it! The big thing about Fowler is that he actually has a lot of game.

You don’t get to be the number one amateur in the world without being able to swing a club. The strength of Fowler’s game is his ability to get the ball to the green. His driving stats and his greens in regulation are extremely good, but his scrambling and putting stats are below the PGA Tour average. His putting can be attributed to hitting more greens than everyone else meaning he has more birdie putts (longer putts) but his scrambling percentages are a worry. All the big tournaments now are played where the fairways are pretty tight and the rough is nasty, meaning if you miss a fairway, it is quite likely that you will miss the green. If Fowler is to get that first PGA Tour win, he’s got to improve his scrambling ability.

Sorry, i’m being far too harsh on the lad. He is only 21 and has already got three runner up finishes to his name and has already made $1.9m on the Tour this year alone and is 12th in the FedEx Cup points. Not too bad for a 21 year old. Keep an eye out for this one. As my friend Tom called him, the ‘Ubiquitous Rickie Fowler’.