GWD_MAY_16

PGA Tour victory in his first five seasons
as a professional meant people began to
cast doubts over his position as American
golf’s ‘Next Big Thing’. “Golf is not a
game of deserves,” explains former
World No.1 David Duval. “Just because
we think Fowler deserves to win doesn’t
make it happen. You have to go and earn
it. You actually have to go win these golf
tournaments.”
Then came the 2015 Players
Championship; a week that began with
Fowler being named ‘The Most
Overrated Player on the PGA Tour’ in
an anonymous survey of his peers and
ended with him silencing his doubters
with one of the greatest finishes of
all time.
“Finally everything clicked,” smiled
Fowler after playing the final six holes
in six-under par. “I laughed at the poll,
but if there was any question about my
ability I think this performance answers
anything you need to know. To step up
like that and get the job done in the
play-off is going to give me added
confidence and belief in myself going
forward.”
A new Rickie Fowler had arrived and
this version has no issue with getting
over the finish line. Last July, he birdied
three of his final four holes to win the
Scottish Open. Last September, he
outlasted Henrik Stenson to win the
Deutsche Bank Championship. And this
January, he held off late charges from
McIlroy, Stenson and Thomas Pieters to
win the Abu Dhabi HSBC
Championship. The last of these
victories saw him climb to World No.4
and receive a large dose of praise from
one of the men ranked above him. “I’d
argue Rickie Fowler is the hottest name
in golf right now,” said Jordan Spieth.
Given Spieth and Jason Day are the
only two players to match Fowler’s four
victories since last May it’s easy to see
‘Rickie is a class act through and through. But
he’s going to have to win major Championships
to be on the same level of McIlroy, Spieth and Day’
where the World No.1 is coming from,
but does this mean we now have a big
four rather than a big three?
“In terms of popularity and
marketability there is a big four, for
sure,” says Golf Channel analyst Brandel
Chamblee. “Rickie is a class act through
and through, the world loves him and
sponsors love him. But in terms of his
place in golfing history, he’s going to have
to win major championships to be on the
level of McIlroy, Spieth and Day.”
“I’d like to jump in and be part of
that crew as it would be a pretty good
foursome, but I need to take care of some
majors first,” agrees Fowler. “That’s my
goal right now, and I definitely feel like
I’m ready. I know I can win in those
situations, but we only get four chances a
year, so it’s about getting your game to
peak at those right times.”
Fowler’s next opportunity to seal his
maiden major success will come at
Augusta this April. And while the
Californian’s statistics don’t instantly
scream ‘Masters winner’, he did finish
THE NEW BREED OF ‘INTERNATIONAL’ AMERICANS
Why the likes of Spieth, Fowler and Reed are becoming better golfers by competing more overseas.
“At present we are blessed by
a younger generation of
American golfers, including
Fowler, Spieth and Reed,
who have watched the
way Rory McIlroy has
made a global schedule
work and see no reason why
they can’t do the same,” says
BBC Radio 5 Live’s Iain Carter.
“Obviously, the main
incentive for them to travel
abroad are the
enormous appearance
fees being offered, but
these young players
also realise there are
some big golfing
benefits to playing
outside of America. They
understand that the more they
play overseas, the more
rounded golfers they
will become. And
the more they
experience the
social aspects of
the European
Tour, the more
they will be able
to take this sense of unity back
to the PGA Tour. The second of
these points could have some
benefits for the United States
Ryder Cup team, but I think it
will only be marginal as it
will take a long time for
the PGA Tour to match
the European Tour’s
camaraderie.”
10 Golf World May 2016