Tour News
As a Tour winner, new challenges await Fowler
By Zak Kozuchowski
GolfWRX Managing Editor
Rickie Fowler has never shunned the spotlight.
The immensely talented 23-year-old has caught the attention of golf fans since he turned pro in 2009. And it’s not just his long hair, bright-colored clothing and signature flat-brimmed hat that have made him a focus of American golf. Fowler has proven that he has the game to become one of America’s premier players.
He earned PGA Tour Rookie of the Year honors in 2010, capping off the year with an impressive Ryder Cup showing that included four consecutive birdies to halve a match with Eduardo Molinari. He gave himself multiple chances to win golf tournaments that year, finishing second at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and the Memorial Tournament.
We waited for Fowler to take the next step in 2011, to finally claim his first PGA Tour title. He impressed us with a fifth-place finish at the British Open and a second-place finish at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, and finally broke through for a non-PGA Tour win at the Kolon Korea Open. But despite finishing 43rd in the FedExCup in 2011, many people began to question Fowler’s skills. Why was it taking so long for him to win on the big stage?
Fowler’s playoff victory last week at the Wells Fargo Championship was proof that Fowler is the player that golf fans wanted him to be – a certification of his talents that was aided by the fact that it was a head-to-head victory over the young player that many have called to heir to Tiger Woods’ throne, Rory McIlroy.
After the win, congratulations poured out to Fowler on Twitter. The immediacy of praise for both Fowler’s game and nature puts him in a unique position as he moves forward with his career. The fans like him. The players respect him. Golf writers write nice things about him. He finally has a PGA Tour win under his bright-colored Puma belt. What could possibly go wrong.
When Fowler tees off Thursday at The Players Championship, he will enter a new level of media scrutiny. His threesome includes fellow “Golf Boy” and friend Hunter Mahan, but also the most polarizing player on the planet, Tiger Woods.
During Tuesday’s press conference, Fowler was asked how he felt about playing with a new category of players, such as Woods, based on his status as a PGA Tour winner.
“I don’t know if Tiger and I have played together in a tournament round,” Fowler said. “I’ve obviously been around him quite a bit with Ryder Cup, played a practice round with him there. Been a lot around him at Medalist, practicing, playing … We enjoy each other, and I enjoy practicing with him and being around him.”
Regardless of how much time Fowler has spent with Woods, Fowler’s status as a media darling likely makes it tough for him to understand the pressures that Woods faces each week as the face of American golf. For most players, winning on the PGA Tour is a relief – it buys some time from media scrutiny, and makes the future bad rounds easier to stomach. But for Woods, particularly in the pre-scandal period, each major victory seemed to add more pressure for him to keep winning.
Golf fans aren’t asking Fowler to become the next Woods and chase major championship records, but they are hoping that he continues to win. Already, many are saying that they can see Fowler rattling off a few wins in a row. It’s funny that just a few months before some of the same voices were saying that Fowler was overrated as a golfer.
There will be a push to create a rivalry between Fowler and McIlroy, also 23, who has three victories on Tour, including a major championship, the 2011 U.S. Open. But I think it’s still a little too soon to push that rivalry. McIlroy is first in four statistical categories, including birdie average, scoring average, all-around ranking and par breakers. He is also third in sand save percentage, FedExCup points and the money list. Fowler is only in the top 5 in one category, total driving. He is 15th in FedExCup points and 11th on the money list.
In McIlroy’s press conference, he was asked about his relationship with Fowler, which started while the two were competing as amateurs.
“I developed a really good relationship with him at the Walker Cup in 2007,” McIlroy said. “I felt like he was the best player on that team at the time, and he was also the nicest guy.”
That’s the key for me – for Fowler to continue to be the person that the fans, players and media have raved about. As much as I want Fowler to rise to the top of the Tour, it’s more important that he continues to radiate his orange-tinted positivity energy. And if you believe in karma, the wins should come. Probably not at the same pace as McIlroy, but they will come.
Click here for more discussion in the “Tour Talk” forum.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans
GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.
As usual, general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums — including some pretty spicy custom putters and headcovers — await your viewing.
Be sure to check back for more photos from the Big Easy, as we’ll continue to update this page with additional galleries throughout the week.
General Albums
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #2
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Alex Fitzpatrick – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Austin Cook – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Alejandro Tosti – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Davis Riley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- MJ Daffue – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Nate Lashley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- James Nicholas – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Kevin Streelman – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rasmus Hojgaard – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Tom Whitney – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- SangMoon Bae – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Daniel Berger – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rory McIlroy – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Russ Cochrane – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Aldrich Potgieter – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Steve Stricker WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Drew Brees WITB (Legendary New Orleans Saints QB) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Derek Carr (New Orleans Saints QB) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Thriston Lawrence WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
Pullout Albums
- MJ Daffue’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Cameron putters – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Swag covers ( a few custom for Nick Hardy) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Custom Bettinardi covers for Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Doug Ghim’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Patrick Cantlay spotted testing a Scotty Cameron blade putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
GolfWRX is on site this week at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage. Plenty of golfers who competed in the Masters last week will be making the quick turnaround in the Lowcountry of South Carolina as the Heritage is again one of the Tour’s Signature Events.
We have general albums for you to check out, as well as plenty of WITBs — including Justin Thomas and Justin Rose.
We’ll continue to update as more photos flow in from SC.
Check out links to all our photos, below.
General Albums
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #2
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Justin Thomas – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Rose – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Chandler Phillips – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Nick Dunlap – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Thomas Detry – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Austin Eckroat – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Jason Day – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Will Zalatoris – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Patrick Cantlay – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Ludvig Aberg – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Collin Morikawa – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Sam Burns – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Stephen Jaeger – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
Pullout Albums
- Wyndham Clark’s Odyssey putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- JT’s new Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Thomas testing new Titleist 2 wood – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey putter with triple track alignment aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Scotty Cameron The Blk Box putting alignment aid/training aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey Ai One Eleven T putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Christian Bezuidenhout – testing new Callaway Ti 340 mini driver – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele testing the Callaway Ti 340 mini driver & the DUW – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Byeong Hun An, two new L.A.B. Golf putter builds with “T” alignment – 2024 RBC Heritage
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Valero Texas Open
GolfWRX is on site this week at the Valero Texas Open.
The event has been around since 1922, making it one of the oldest on the PGA Tour calendar. Over the years, it’s been held at a variety of courses across the Lone Star State, but it’s found its home at TPC San Antonio in recent years. Some of the biggest names in golf have taken home the title here, including Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino, and Ben Crenshaw.
GolfWRX has its usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs and special pull-out albums. As always, we’ll continue to update the links below as more photos come in from TPC San Antonio.
General Albums
WITB Albums
- Ben Taylor – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Paul Barjon – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Joe Sullivan – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Wilson Furr – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Ben Willman – SoTex PGA Section Champ – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Jimmy Stanger – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Rickie Fowler – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Harrison Endycott – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Vince Whaley – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Kevin Chappell – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Christian Bezuidenhout – WITB (mini) – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Scott Gutschewski – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
Pullout Albums
- Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Ben Taylor with new Titleist TRS 2 wood – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Swag cover – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Greyson Sigg’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Davis Riley’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Josh Teater’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Hzrdus T1100 is back – – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Mark Hubbard testing ported Titleist irons – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Tyson Alexander testing new Titleist TRS 2 wood – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Hideki Matsuyama’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Cobra putters – 2024 Valero Texas Open
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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Nate
May 11, 2012 at 1:58 am
So, if you are saying the wins will come…but not at the same pace as McIlroy…and you draw the line between karma, being a good guy, etc. and winning…are you intimating that Rory is not as good a person as Rickie?
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