Rickie Fowler Takes His Golf Game Abroad In 2015 And Beyond

Aug 10, 2014; Louisville, KY, USA; PGA golfer Rickie Fowler tees off on the first hole during the final round of the 2014 PGA Championship golf tournament at Valhalla Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Twenty Six year-old Rickie Fowler has decided to take his golf game abroad this year, and is playing this week, at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship in the United Arab Emirates. His 2015 plans also include a stop at Royal County Down for the Irish Open, and maybe a stop at the Scottish Open.

I have long thought, that one of the reasons American players struggle in the Ryder Cup, and in tournaments around the globe, is they just don’t do it enough. How else can you learn the culture of International golf if you don’t participate in International golf?

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EuropeanTour.com reported earlier in the week that Fowler is also considering a 2016 schedule that between the major championships, and the World Golf Championship events, and various European Tour stops, he could even compete in the Race To Dubai Championship.

In Abu Dhabi this week, Rickie Fowler will be paired with Rory McIlroy, and Italy’s young star, Matteo Manassero during the early rounds, and says he is looking forward to testing his golf game against some of the best players in the world.

Rory is twenty-five years old, and with Matteo Manassero at age twenty-one, Rickie will be the elder statesman in the group.

"“I’ll be the old guy in the group,” he quipped. “It doesn’t happen very often but we’ll have a good time.“I’ve gotten to play with both of them quite a bit before. Obviously Rory and I got to play a bit last year, a couple final groups, and we’ll see if we can make it a little bit more fun this week.“Obviously Rory is the best player in the world right now, and proved that last year.“I’m definitely looking forward to 2015, having some great match-ups with him, along with some of the other great young players.“It’s not just 2015 to look forward to but the rest of our careers. We have a lot of time that we’re going to be able to play against each other and this is really just the start of it.“I’m really looking forward to it, and I feel like we’re going to have some fun and heated battles at times.”"

European Tour veterans typically have to jet to far-away places on a weekly basis, and have a very short time to adjust to the time changes, and cultural differences from country to country. What could be better for a youngster like Rickie Fowler, than to learn, by doing?

On Day one in Abu Dhabi, Fowler matched his playing partner Rory McIlroy in the first round with a five under par 67. Both are in a group tied for eighth place that includes American, Peter Uihlein.

Everyone is chasing three-time Abu Dhabi champ, Martin Kaymer after the 2014 US Open champ opened with a solid eight under par, 64 on Thursday afternoon.

Fowler and McIlroy’s young playing partner, Manassero didn’t fare so well. The young Italian shot even par, and is in a large group tied for 71st place.

Rickie Fowler joined only Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods in 2014 as the only players to log top fives in all four majors in a calendar year.

With all the success he had last year that can be accredited to the improvement of his golf swing, the fact remains, he has only one PGA Tour victory. That coming in Charlotte at the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship.

Next: Rickie Fowler Will Win Big in 2015

One can only hope that if Rickie can jet around the world, and rub elbows with some of the best players in the world, he can improve his résumé. Even though he hasn’t put enough W’s on his resume, he is very popular with fans around the world, and we can only hope he can get those much-needed wins, at home, and abroad….Soon!

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