Different Strokes: 'Overrated' Fowler proves doubters wrong

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  • Proving doubters wrong: Rickie Fowler.

    And that, friends and fans of professional golf, is how you respond to criticism.
    At the start of last week Rickie Fowler was named — along with Ian Poulter — as the most overrated player on the PGA Tour, according to an anonymous poll of current professionals (as a general rule, unless it’s in a Ryder Cup it’s not great news if you are named alongside Poulter for anything).

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    Wind on a few days and Fowler was celebrating the biggest victory of his career at the Players Championship, following one of the best finishes to a tournament the game has seen for many, many years.
    Fowler was five-under par for his final four holes to force his way into a play-off at TPC Sawgrass, before twice birdieing the island green 17th to eventually beat Kevin Kisner in sudden death.
    This was as good as golf gets down the stretch, as the 26-year-old finally added to his one previous tour win, at the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship.

    — Brendan Porath (@BrendanPorath) May 11, 2015

    It is not hard to guess why Fowler may have acquired the ‘overrated’ tag among his peers, even if it was only last season that he became only the third player in history (after Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods) to finish in the top-five of all four majors in a calendar year.
    Fowler did not win one of those majors, after all (both Woods and Nicklaus did), something that—when coupled with his slightly anaemic winning record in general—gave ammunition to those who consider him lacking in a killer instinct. That is just one way of evaluating a fantastically consistent run of golf, of course.
    Then there is his status as a sponsors’ darling, a man who earns more through his endorsements (most notably with Puma) than many very good players probably earn all year – and a man who gets more fan attention than almost anyone else out ther. In the jealous, occasionally high school atmosphere of the tour, it is not hard to see that fostering some animosity that may well leak out when the mask of anonymity is offered.

    Rickie Fowler celebrates after winning the Players Championships.

    “I laughed at the poll,” Fowler said. “You know, I was always looked at as only having one win on tour, and I always felt that I needed to put myself in position to win more often, and I did that last year. I wasn’t able to end up as the last guy standing.
    “It feels good to be back in that position, and I’m hoping to be back in the same position more often.”
    Despite Fowler’s apparent nonchalance, it is pretty clear the poll results added to his motivation. There was a measure of luck about his scintillating finish—his ball barely creeping over the water at the 16th, on the way to a kick-in eagle—but after that he didn’t miss a shot, proving too hot for Sergio Garcia (the third member of the play-off) to handle before ultimately putting Kisner to the sword.
    The 17th was his personal fiefdom, a par-three that usually strikes fear into most players rendered nothing more than a pitch and putt hole by Fowler’s precise wedge play. Fowler played the hole six times over the course of the tournament and birdied it five times—including all three times he visited it on Sunday. That is stunning golf.
    “Finally everything clicked,” Fowler reflected. “Yeah, to play the last six holes that way and to step up and continue that in the play-off… Big thanks to 17. It was a big help this week!”

    With the Players the game’s (self-appointed) fifth major, Fowler now has a title that befits his talent in his collection. Sawgrass is not beloved by every player on tour but Fowler seems to have a habit of producing at the best courses and biggest tournaments; not only the majors last year, but his previous PGA Tour victory at Quail Hollow (perhaps the finest course on the tour) and other times he has contended at the likes of Muirfield Village and Firestone.
    Winning the Players did not suddenly make him a good player, did not suddenly make him “properly rated”; it merely provided tangible evidence of what we have long known to be the case. There is still another level he can move to, of course.
    He already has the model girlfriend (almost a prerequisite of any young tour player these days) so, really and truly, the next thing missing from his collection is that old favourite: the major championship.

    Since Jordan Spieth won The Masters, it became tempting to plot out how the year would go in a perfect scenario for golf’s future. If Fowler was to win the US Open, Woods the Open Championship, and someone like Jason Day win the US PGA this year… well, suddenly golf would have all the storylines it could ever possibly need.
    “I don’t think the game could really be in a better place,” Fowler said. “There’s a lot of great players right now, a lot of young guys playing well, Rory being No. 1.
    “Rory has distanced himself a bit from this group of younger guys, but there’s going to be a lot of good competition in the years to come. Like I said, a lot of great young players, and none of us are afraid. We’re ready to go to battle and have some fun.”

    Quick, someone go call Tiger overrated…

    2. Customer service, Cobra style

    Fowler did not win it alone, of course. He has a caddie, a coach, agents, his family (and the aforementioned girlfriend) and a whole extended coterie of people who, to a greater or lesser extent, are devoted to making him the best he can be.
    That extends to the representatives from Fowler’s golf equipment supplier, Cobra, and in particular one rep—who proved his loyalty to his client with an amazing display over the weekend.
    Midway through his third round on Saturday, Fowler played a recovery shot from behind a tree, breaking his eight-iron in the process. When informed of this development, Fowler’s rep left his wedding reception (his wedding reception!) to hop on a plane and deliver Fowler a replacement club.
    As golf.com reported, that involved jumping on a flight to Jacksonville, hot-footing it over to Sawgrass and then delivering Fowler an eight-iron tuned to his precise specifications.
    Considering that, the rep in question was probably delighted to see Fowler emerge victorious on Sunday. Even if he didn’t hit a single eight-iron during his final round…
    “It was pretty awesome of him to show his dedication to leave a wedding, get on a plane and get here just in case we need an 8-iron coming down the stretch,” Fowler’s caddie, Joe Skovron, said.
    3. You are Korda-lly invited
    And, to sign off, never underestimate the star power of the professional golfer.
    LPGA up-and-comer Jessica Korda (daughter of former tennis professional Petr, no less) found herself in Japan last week, at the same time as Taylor Swift was kicking off her latest world tour. Cue surprising developments…

    Remember kids, get good at golf and you will be able to get tickets for anything.

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