Oklahoma State University Athletics
Go Time With Rickie Fowler
September 28, 2012 | Cowboy Golf
Sept. 28, 2012
To say Rickie Fowler has taken the PGA Tour by storm would be an understatement. The personable superstar has built a huge following, especially with the younger generation, making flatbill hats and his Oklahoma State orange popular across the globe. In 2012, he continued his climb toward joining golf's elite, adding the first PGA win of his career to his resume earlier this year at the Wells Fargo Championship. Fowler also qualified for the Tour Championship for the first time. In advance of his first-ever start at the event, the 2010 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year spent a week in Stillwater preparing at his old college stomping grounds, Karsten Creek.
What did you think the first time you saw someone dressed in the all-orange Puma gear?
“It was cool. I think a lot of it started with just the hats. That is obviously an easy thing to just go throw on. It turned into kids dressing up in all Puma. The first few times it was, I guess, shocking in a way because I went from being in college and people not really knowing me in the outside, normal world to having an impact on the younger generation and seeing kids out there running around in gear and dressing like me. It was definitely something new and is still growing.”
Did you think it was going to become as big as it has become?
“No. I didn't think it was going to grow as fast as it has. I obviously want to be the best player in the world at some point and to have that impact. I turned pro three years ago and to have the impact and growth that we have had with the younger generation, Puma developing and my brand developing, it has been huge. We have definitely surpassed what we were expecting out of the gate. We are definitely off to a good start and will, hopefully, continue to grow.”
Did you have any sort of “Welcome to the PGA” moment?
“There hasn't been anything out of the ordinary. I haven't had any crazy pranks or anything done on me. For the most part, I felt like I was pretty ready when I went out there. I played a handful of events as an amateur. I played two (U.S.) Opens as an amateur. So, I definitely felt like I had the experience and was ready to go play for the most part. The biggest kind of shock and learning curve was the amount of time on the road and time management, when to do one thing and when not to. When to sleep, when to workout, when to practice and making sure you are ready to play Thursday through Sunday.”
How do you manage your time with all of the demands placed on you?
“With being as successful as I have been the first few years and kind of being the bit of a draw that I am. Obviously, I am not the draw that guys like Tiger (Woods) and Phil (Mickelson) and Rory (McIlroy) right now, but I definitely draw in the younger crowd. I have a lot of great fans. I obviously like to spend time with my fans and then there are the media obligations, but at the same time I kind of have to look at it as you have to be selfish at times and I have to say that I come first. We are there to play golf, so I have to be make sure that I am ready to play on Thursday and ready to play to my fullest and my best. As far as travel goes, and when to workout and when to practice, the biggest thing is making sure I am ready to play golf on Thursday. Maybe there are times I can't do a whole lot of media, maybe there are times I can't sign for very long, just to make sure I am rested and mentally prepared to play golf.”
When did you first realize you could play professionally?
“I was always good as a teenager and kept improving and played well in high school and across the country playing AJGA and other amateur events. I think I really realized it when I qualified to play in the Verizon Heritage at Hilton Head after winning an amateur event. I ended up going there and missing the cut by one. I played well the first day and struggled the second. It wasn't by any means my best two days of golf. I felt like I kind of cruised around and didn't play that great. I ended up missing the cut by one and at that point I was like 'Man, I could play halfway decent and I know I can make cuts out here. If I play good I am in contention and have a chance to win.' I think that was really the time I really believed I could play out there.”
What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
“I feel like I am pretty normal and easy going. I think once people get to know me a little bit I feel like I am as friendly as they come. Obviously, some people get some different impressions. There are always going to be haters out there, but I love meeting new people and love hanging with my fans when I get the chance. You talk about the time management. When you can actually open yourself up to other people, but there are other times where you have to go and its not like I can go hang out at the restaurant bar for two or three hours before a tournament. I enjoy, like this week, hanging in Stillwater and people coming up and saying hi. I definitely don't want to make it seem like I am not approachable. I definitely like it when fans come up, at the right times. If I am sitting down having dinner with my family that is probably not the best time to come up and get a picture. It's common sense on that point. More of it is just I am a normal person that gets to play golf every day.”
What does it do for you to be able to come back to Stillwater?
“It is a relaxing week for me, coming back here to Stillwater and hanging out with the guys on the team and seeing people I was involved with when I was in school on the staff side and the coaches. Staying out here at the lodge and hanging with the guys and sometimes staying at the house. Looking back at where I was and where I am now, being able to help these guys out if I can when I am around. Getting to play qualifying with them and beat up on them as much as possible. It is a fun week for me to come hang out here because it is relaxing. It is a good way for me to have a good time, but also rest up and prepare to go play golf.”
When you hit the wedge on the playoff hole at Wells Fargo, what was going through your mind when that ball was in the air?
“I did all I could do. I hit it solid. I made a good swing. It was on the right line and it was up to the man above, the wind, the conditions and anything from there. It was out of my hands. I did all I could do to hit the shot and it worked out.”
When the final putt dropped, what was your first thought?
“For one, I had to wait a while to hit the putt, so I was trying to stay relaxed. Luckily, I had hit some similar putts on the practice green before going out. It was just kind of a sense of relief to finally be able to sit there as the last man standing at a tournament.”
If the powers that be handed you the rulebook and allowed you to make one change, what would it be?
“The rules are the way they are and have been for a while. Maybe it would be fixing things on the greens to not playing out of divots in the middle of the fairway. You can say you want to make it an even playing field by being able to tap down spike marks or fix things on the green to divots being ground under repair. At what point does a divot not become ground under repair? It's tough. I think one of the things, possibly, on the greens being able to fix or tap down whatever. It is definitely a disadvantage to the guys that are playing later versus earlier with spike marks or anything like that. You get to fix divots or ball marks on the green, so I don't think its too far of a stretch to tap down a spike mark just to even it out a little.”
I remember walking with you at the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship and seeing you have to call a penalty on yourself during a match after your ball moved on the green, what about that one?
“On the green, I think it is a stupid rule. It is not like you are trying to improve your lie. If you accidentally touch the ball or the ball happens to roll and you haven't touched it, just put it back and play the shot. I can see in the fairway or in the rough if it oscillates and happens to roll to a different spot, then you are not supposed to make the ball move like that. On the green, were you trying to get a better lie? That is a little tough there.”
How did you come up with your signature Twitter phrase Go Time?
“I really don't know. It just came up. I came up with it on my own. It is like let's go or ready to go. It turned into go time. It is kind of cool to have something that in a way is my own.”
If you had to describe your swing in one word what would it be?
“My swing is, I would say, my own. Can we turn that into one word? My own.”
If there is one aspect of college golf you could take to the PGA Tour what would it be?
“I feel like there is a lot of stuff that is carried on. You obviously aren't sharing rooms with guys on Tour, but I feel like a lot of guys have their group of buddies and whether it is going to dinner or playing practice rounds together you are sticking with a similar group of guys most of the time. I think that is a big part that carries over. There aren't very many guys that are very individual and enjoy being by themselves, whether its practice rounds or going to dinner. I think a lot of that is human nature and comes from the college lifestyle and being around your buddies all the time. The practice rounds, you can make them fun, and then going to dinner and spending time with your buddies on the road.”
At what age did you first break par?
“I don't know how old I was when I first broke par. The first time I broke 70, because I really don't remember the first time I broke par, I did it when I was 12. It was always a big goal of mine to break 70. It was from a decent set of tees. I want to say that it was 6,700 or 6,800 yards. It wasn't exactly a pitch-n-putt and I shot 67, so I gave myself some cushion coming in.”
Growing up riding dirt bikes, is there any aspect of that you have been able to use to your advantage on Tour?
“I think when you are going to do a new jump or you are free riding around in the desert and you are about to go hit a jump out there is how I always kind of took one or two looks and went and tried it and committed and did it. A lot of times it would work out and every once in a while it wouldn't. I have taken that aspect or that look at things into golf. I am very quick at making decisions on the golf course, most of the time. I don't think things through a whole lot and go with a lot of first instincts. Step up, commit and hit the shot. If it works out great, if not move on and keep plugging along.”
If I took you to the X Games and you could compete, what event would it be?
“It would be something on a bicycle or a dirt bike because I am terrible on a skateboard. Rally car would be cool. My safest bet and putting some work in, rally would be my best shot. I am going to jump the mega ramp on a bicycle. Not sure when yet, we are still working that out. I am not looking to do a trick over the gap and I am not hitting the quarter pipe on the mega ramp. As far as freestyle goes, I don't have the tricks. My trick list isn't as extensive as those guys. I am not flipping or anything like that. There would be a lot of work involved there. I grew up riding a lot of bicycle stuff. The tricks are where I lack in skill on that. Rally is a little more straightforward. I would just have to learn a little bit there.”
If there was one guy out there on Tour you would pay to watch who would it be?
“I don't know if I could pick one. I always enjoy watching Bubba (Watson). We have a good time together just because you never know what you are going to get. You aren't sure how he is going to hit it. I can usually predict he only hits a cut with driver and a lot of times he will hit a little chip cut out there. He is fun to watch because he hits a lot of different shots. I will stick with Bubba as my one.”
If you had to put together a scramble team, who would you put on it?
“If it was four guys and I was already on the team, I will take Bubba. Right now, you would have to take Rory. He is playing the best of anyone. You can't leave Tiger off the team. I don't know. That would be my foursome. I will leave it there. Bubba brings the flair, Tiger knows how to get it done and Rory has been playing really well.”
How would you describe your year?
“It has been a really good transition year. With my changes, equipment-wise and with companies, not a huge change, but I think the year has been a success. It wasn't all positive. I started out slow and then had a little bit of a slow summer. I had some great finishes. I have been swinging really well. I got my first win and this is my first time to make it to the Tour Championship, so definitely a lot of positives and a step in the right direction. Looking forward to playing well through the fall and seeing if we can get things going in the 2013 season.”
How do you go about setting your schedule?
“The last couple of years, I have been fortunate enough to be in the top 50 in the world. Being in the top 50 gets you in all of the majors, gets you in the WGC events, so that is huge when you know that you are in those events already. So, for me, first on the list are all four majors. Next, is playing the World Golf Championships and then I have a few sponsor obligations. One with Farmer's playing San Diego, Zurich playing New Orleans, Crown Plaza playing Colonial and basically picking and choosing some courses that I really like. Then its down to making the schedule flow a little bit. I think it has kind of come to it that three in a row is best to get your rhythm going and then having a week or two off. Once you have the majors and the WGCs you can kind of start piecing things together and throwing tournaments in. You try to piece the schedule together so that it flows and doesn't have too big of a break or not enough break in between certain events.”
You went out with the team and played a qualifying round at Lakeside. A lot of people might not know that you grew up playing public courses and had a simple approach with your instructor (Barry McDonell). What was your start in the game like?
“I grew up, for the most part, on a local driving range. I worked with my coach, started with him when I was six or seven and worked with him through high school until I came to Oklahoma State. He made a trip out here once. I would see him in the summer when I was at home and in the winter when I got home for break. We never used a video camera or anything like that. It was just hitting balls and working on hitting the ball in the center of the face and figuring it out from there. Playing on the public courses, the places where you could walk out in shorts and a t-shirt or a collared shirt untucked and a hat however you want. That is my kind of place. In a way, I was fortunate to go that way. You could look at it as I didn't have the opportunities to be a member at a private club, which has definitely helped make me who I am today with being raised on the range and with public courses. It is fun for me to go back and play public courses, hang out and play a place like Lakeside where a lot of the college kids go play and the local people in Stillwater play. It has a cool atmosphere because it is easy going and laid back. It is definitely more my pace.”
