Rickie Fowler does not want to be counted in the same bracket as Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy – until he gets a major win on his CV.
The 27-year-old is ranked No6 in the world, and along with the 21-year-old Spieth, the 26-year-old McIlroy and the 28-year-old Jason Day, is part of a group of young talent that has taken the golfing world by storm.
But the other three players have one thing that Fowler doesn’t have, and that is a big goal for him.
“I may not be ranked as high as them, but I’m close,” said Fowler, winner of three tournaments last year including the Players Championship.
“A major would help me become a solid part of the talk. The last two years have been very good steps for me to continue to move forward by having the finishes that I did in the majors in 2014 and to get the wins that I did last year.
“The game has continued to get better. I feel like I played very well through the last half of last year, through the fall, and I’m really looking forward to getting 2016 started.”
Spieth, McIlroy and Fowler placed in stellar group @ADGolfChamps, writes @TheJoyofGolf https://t.co/ut5ni0LOkG
— Sport360° (@Sport360) January 19, 2016In the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, Fowler shot 21-under par and finished third, while at Kapalua in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, he recorded 20-under par and was fifth – a mammoth 10 shots behind Spieth.
“In the Bahamas and Kapalua, shooting I think 20- and 21-under, I didn’t come close to a win. Just shows you how good the guys are playing. You have to be on top of your game to have a chance,” said Fowler.
“It’s going to be a fun ride this year. A lot of guys are playing well, but you look at some of the top guys in the world, they are all ready to go kind of beat up on each other. All are really good friends. So, it’s going to be an exciting year for golf.”
VIDEO: @TheJoyofGolf previews @ADGolfChamps and gives his verdict on the contenders https://t.co/vYKhs7f0kz pic.twitter.com/LdMM152Gwk
— Sport360° (@Sport360) January 19, 2016Fowler has been drawn to play with Spieth and McIlroy in the first two rounds of this weekend’s championship, and he is excited by the prospect.
“I look forward to going against those boys and having a good time. We’re all good buddies, so it’s going to be a fun walk the first two days,” said Fowler, who is playing for the second straight year in Abu Dhabi.
“Yeah, it would be fun to kind of get the three of us going and see if we can push each other and all have a good week.
“I know I want to see those guys play well, because I feel like it brings out the best in me, and I feel like I can push and motivate them, as well. So it would be fun to be able to feed off each other and bring out the best in everyone.”
