Joy of Golf: Rickie Fowler can build on Players triumph

Joy Chakravarty 10:31 14/05/2015
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  • Fortune favours the brave: Rickie Fowler tees off during the playoff at Sawgrass.

    Let’s not get too carried away by what was an amazing Players Championship win for Rickie Fowler. It’s too early to call him a ‘legend’, as some American broadcasters have already done.

    That ordainment will really have to wait for some more time, but there is no denying the fact that the multi-talented American is absolutely brilliant for the sport.

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    And he surely did not deserve to be named the No1 over-rated player in a poll conducted among fellow professionals by Sports Illustrated.

    He may not look like a person living on the edge, but he does bring a lot of testosterone into the sedate world of golf, not only with what he does off the course, but also how he plays his golf on the course.

    A couple of observations from Sunday’s round at TPC Sawgrass illustrate what I mean – the way he handled the 17th all three times he played it, and his drive on the 18th hole in regulation play.

    The fact that he made up a five-shot deficit over his last six holes – making an eagle and three birdies to catch up with Sergio Garcia and Kevin Kisner – was a rousing finish in itself, but Fowler wasn’t done yet.

    He then won what turned out to be a four-hole play-off, in which he needed to play the 17th twice again.

    The 17th of TPC Sawgrass is already well known as one of the most diabolical creations of Pete Dye. It requires a nine-iron off the tee at the most, but the slightest twitch of muscle during the swing is enough to send the ball to a watery grave, which surrounds the green.

    The Sunday pin was front right – about five yards from the right edge and eight from the front. The best shot was to land it right, and before the pin. Anything beyond would have left a fast downhill putt.

    Most players do not want to go for such a flag. Too much risk, you see. A little short, or a little right, and both shots might result in a wet ball. But all three times that Sunday, Fowler hit it short and right.

     That takes a lot of guts, especially when the tournament is on the line. And he got it perfect every time, a seven-footer for birdie was the longest putt he was left with. It was an awesome display of aggressive golf. 

    He did the same with the drive on the 18th hole. Not much is said about the dogleg left, 462-yard closing hole of Sawgrass, but with water all the way down the left, it is as intimidating as the 17th.

    Knowing he needed to make a birdie, Fowler crushed what was the longest recorded drive of the whole tournament on that hole. It was a 330-yard monster, with a majority of its flight path over water. It completely cut across the corner, and left him with nothing more than a 119 yard sand wedge shot, and he went on to make a birdie.

    An adrenaline sport junkie – he is one of the very few golfers sponsored by Red Bull, apparently because of his love for motocross and outdoors, and his appeal among younger fans – Fowler will now have to build on what was only his second win on the PGA Tour if he wants to join Spieth as a potential challenger to McIlroy’s crown.

    But this Players win, it really could give him wings for the future.

    Garcia’s fiesty response

    Not America’s sweetheart: Sergio Garcia.

    After his run-ins with Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia kind of expects to receive rough treatment from the American fans, but what happened during the final round of the Players was taking animosity a bit too far.

    The emotional Spaniard was heckled time and again at Sawgrass, and had to move away from the ball several times, including when someone shouted in the middle of his swing on the 17th hole on Sunday when he had a real chance of winning the tournament outright.

    Spectators chanted “USA, USA” as he walked to the green, which was fine, but “get into the water” when he hit his shot, was uncalled for. 

    Garcia was gracious enough not to complain despite a near miss after losing to Fowler in a play-off.

    What was even better was the 45-feet double breaker putt he made for birdie on that 17th hole. There could not be any better response.

    Fans deserve better

    It was a video that was bound to go viral as Bubba Watson was filmed signing autographs for fans. 

    Among the crowd stood fellow professional Chesson Hadley. He took Bubba’s autograph and the twice Masters champion never even noticed his good friend. That’s because he kept on signing like a robot, never once taking his eyes away.

    It is funny, and I must add Bubba is mostly very good with his duties towards fans. But I really think players need to make eye contact and smile. Giving autographs should not be seen as a mandatory chore.

    Quote of the Week

    “If there’s a time where I need to kind of give me a kick in the butt, then I can think of that and it will put me in the right frame of mind to go out there and take care of business.”
    – Fowler on what he thought of the anonymous survey of Tour players that named him (along with Ian Poulter) as the most overrated player on the Tour.

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