Rickie Fowler Will Win Big In 2015
There’s a good chance that a golfer in his twenties can dominate golf this year. Of course for most of you this statement is not a shock. Except you and I may be thinking about different players. While the rest of the world thinks Rory Mcilroy will continue his reign as the game’s best player, there’s a good chance that Rickie Fowler can take the game by storm, or maybe I should say an orange tornado.
As the two get ready to start their 2015 campaigns at the Abu Dahbi HSBC Golf Championship this could be the beginning of a very exciting year for both of them. Both are accustomed to high expectations seeing as how they’ve each experienced that since arriving on the professional scene. Rory, a young phenom from across the pond and Fowler, a surfer looking accomplished college player from California, have golf fans believing they could be the future. So far the returns have been mixed, Rory is currently the best player on the planet and stands a green jacket away from the career grand slam. Then there’s Fowler, who was the best player not named McIlroy in the majors last year. That being said Rickie never found his way to the champion’s press conference.
Last year things changed for both players. Whether it was swing changes, lack of personal distractions or just their potentials coming to fruition. For McIlroy we knew he could win majors, but prior to 2014 his US Open & PGA Championship romps felt as if they were eons ago. You can blame it on personal issues or getting used to the Nike swoosh on his clubs, but 2013 was a long and lost year for McIlroy. Now after back to back major wins to close out 2014, it’s almost as if he never fell off the mountain top in the first place.
Then there’s Fowler. Golf fans are starving for a challenger to fight Rory for a spot on top of the mountain, and I think Rickie has the best chance to do that. The former Oklahoma State Cowboy has always had the potential and the charisma to be a star for the game. Just think about how, he’s made orange one of the most popular colors on a golf course. I don’t know about you but when I’m out there ripping up turf on my local muni and I see someone in orange my first thought is, “who do you think you are, Rickie Fowler?”
Beyond the orange fashion take over, Rickie’s game stepped up in a big way last year. After working with the famed instructor Butch Harmon on a new swing, he found himself starring on the game’s biggest stages. His performance in the majors was both historic and frustrating at the same time. He was the only player on tour to finish in the top 5 in all four majors and only the 3rd player ever to do so. Then there was the fact that he was the first player ever to not pick up a W in any of them.
That just goes to show you that it’s not easy to win these things. You can be as close as possible, but one missed putt here or one bad drive there and you’re left wondering what could have been. There’s also an element of luck to winning majors and Rickie did catch some bad luck last year. First there was Bubba Watson who mastered Augusta for the second time, then Martin Kaymer was an unstoppable train at Pinehurst and finally the best player in the world won the last two majors. It’s not like Fowler lost to Ben Curtis here.
Yes I sound a little bit like an supporter and you can criticize me all you want for metaphorically waiving the orange poms poms, but Fowler is right there. He’s right on the verge of really doing something special in the game and giving McIlroy the true test we’re all hoping for. Yes a lot of you may be rooting for the man formerly known as Tiger Woods to go toe to toe with Rory, but I’ll just wait to see if he can stand up first. Fowler has the charisma, confidence and even the swing that Tiger used to have. Now it’s just time for him to rack up some of the same trophies.