The Rickie Effect

With a resume featuring 10 worldwide wins, five Ryder Cup teams, three Presidents Cup squads, an Olympics appearance and nearly $50 million in PGA Tour earnings, it is easy to measure the considerable success Rickie Fowler has had on the golf course.

With a unique blend of charisma, humility and talent, Fowler's ability to move the needle beyond the reaches of the sport is more difficult to quantify, but equally as impressive.

"He absolutely captivates people and it's not like he is loud or boisterous in doing it. He doesn't force it on anybody," former Cowboy head coach Mike McGraw said. "I could tell when he was 16 years old because of the kind of player we thought he would be and the way he treats people and affects people, he was going to be hugely, hugely popular."

McGraw was spot on with Fowler immediately rocketing to stardom and becoming one of the game's most popular figures after bursting onto the PGA Tour scene. His popularity can also be detected by the decibel level of the "Rickie Roars" heard around the course, a level reserved for a very select few in the game.

The two-time All-American now counts the likes of prominent companies such as Farmers Insurance, Rolex, Cobra Puma Golf, TaylorMade, Grant Thornton and Rocket Mortgage among his partners.

"Rickie has been an integral part of Cobra Puma Golf since the beginning and has helped build our company from the ground up. He is a leader, trendsetter and a class act on and off the course," Dan Ladd, Cobra Puma Golf's general manager said.

Since joining forces, Fowler has helped elevate the brand across the globe. All the while doing so stylishly dressed in his alma mater's orange and black.

"Rickie put Cobra Puma Golf on the map with his play, style and swagger," company president Bob Philion said.

"I remember the day Rickie asked me for orange pants, orange shirt, orange belt, orange hat and orange shoes. I asked him, 'How are you going to style those pieces?' He looked at me and said 'Maybe I'll wear them all at the same time.'"

"That is Rickie Fowler."

Puma delivered and his traditional Sunday orange has blossomed into one of the most recognizable looks in sports. Good luck tuning in to a PGA Tour event and not finding his flat billed hats sprinkled throughout the gallery.

Between his Sunday attire and the program's Swinging Pete logo prominently displayed on the front of his golf bag, he has more than kept a promise made to McGraw when he jumped to the professional ranks after his sophomore season.

"Coach, I know I'm leaving early, but I promise you I'm going to wear orange every Sunday," Fowler said.

Ever the trendsetter, Fowler was one of the very first to promote his university in such a way. An exercise which has now become commonplace on Tour.

"Name a golfer in the last, say, two dozen years in professional golf where every single Sunday afternoon that he's playing their university gets named," McGraw said. "Who is that person? Rickie is the only one."

"I don't know anybody who has benefited their university as much as Rickie has on Sundays."

It is easy to see Fowler is built differently and has been long before he first set foot on campus, albeit an arrival delayed due to the U.S. Amateur and the Walker Cup.

"He made a 3.8 (GPA) that first semester and I didn't expect that after he missed 17 of his first 18 school days. He had all of his business taken care of when we went to a tournament he didn't have makeup work because he did the work ahead of time," McGraw said.

"He was the most put together, ready-to-play freshman that I'd ever coached."

However, Fowler's distinguishable look was not so appealing to one prominent Cowboy, Boone Pickens, initially.

With the buzz growing louder in anticipation of the next great Cowboy making his way to campus to embark on his collegiate career, Pickens voiced his concern to McGraw.

"This kid on your team has hair that is way too long. I hear he's a superstar and a stud and everything, but he can't have hair that long can he?"

McGraw responded, "Well, Mr. Pickens, he kind of changed my mind about that. He's just really a nice kid."

"He wasn't being rude or mean, he was basically saying he should cut his hair if he's going to be such a high profile guy for Oklahoma State," McGraw explained.

McGraw went on to ask Pickens if he was going to have breakfast at Karsten Creek before OSU's upcoming football game and recommended Fowler join him. Pickens agreed.

Fowler told McGraw he was available and enthusiastically asked, "What do I need to say? What do I need to do?"

McGraw's response?
"Just be in golf clothes and be yourself. You don't need to do anything unusual. Just be yourself, talk to him and get to know him."

Forty-five minutes later, McGraw spotted Fowler heading to the locker room to get his clubs to head out for a practice session. The Cowboy head coach returned to the dining room to find Pickens with an altered opinion.

"That boy can grow his hair as long as he wants. He's a heck of a nice kid," the newest member of the Fowler Fan Club replied and a friendship was formed.

As Pickens quickly learned, there is not just style but plenty of substance to the 2023 OSU Athletics Hall of Honor inductee.

Golf Digest annually unveils its list of nicest players on Tour and Fowler is always featured prominently, ranking first in 2019.

There is no greater measure of respect than having that of your peers. Fowler does.

Speaking to ESPN.com, Jordan Spieth shared this about a potential major championship breakthrough for his friend.

"We are all going to want to be a part of it. That guy is one of the nicest human beings in the world. It is genuine. That is what a lot of people don't realize. He's not doing it for any other reason. When he celebrates with us, it is because he is genuinely happy for us."

Following his victory this summer at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, Butch Harmon, Fowler's instructor, echoed Spieth's sentiment via another of golf's superstars during an interview with the Sky Sports Golf Podcast.

"I got a beautiful text from Rory (McIlroy) yesterday that says. 'Congratulations Butch, he is back where he belongs.' and that just shows you what the players think about this kid."

A win that led to this head-turning revelation from one of the most renowned instructors the game has ever known.

"This win for Rickie probably means more to me personally than all of the majors that I have had guys win that I have worked with," Harmon continued.

"Rickie Fowler is good for the game of golf."

To nobody's surprise, the playoff victory in Detroit by Fowler, who has two million followers on Instagram, reverberated throughout the social media world.

According to Zoomph, an analytics company, the event ranked fourth among all PGA Tour events this past season in total social media engagements and came in ahead of three major championships. The event trailed only the Masters, Genesis Invitational and Players Championship, showcasing Fowler's star power.

Fowler's win in the Motor City also signaled the reemergence of the form that saw him previously achieve a top-five world ranking. More importantly, his character and resolve were on full display after a difficult journey that had seen him go without a win since 2019.

"Rickie's impact on the game of golf is undeniable. He is a trendsetter and a world-class player, but most importantly a fantastic person that I am proud to call a friend," Philion said.

Fowler may have revealed more about himself during his struggles on the course to further prove he is the rarest of superstars.

"When you watched him at the events and you watched him play, even though he was struggling and missing cuts, he was still the same, signing all of the autographs and very gracious in doing his interviews," McGraw said.

"His personality never changed during all of this. He is genuinely nice to people and treats people the way you'd want to be treated. He does that all the time and it's not fake."

And golf and Oklahoma State are better for it.

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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