Fowler reigniting the spark
How refreshing to see an American youngster finally burst on the scene to prove that natural born talent is something that comes along every now and then, even in golf.
It’s good timing for US golf as well. Considering the revelations surrounding the personal affairs of their previous wonderkid – Tiger Woods – there is now an emerging talent that seems fit to pick up the baton, carried for so long by Woods, and run with it.
Ok, so Rickie fowler might not have yet won an event, but even Tiger took time to find his feat in among the big boys of the tour.
You might be surprised to know that it wasn’t until the October of his first season. Rickie Fowler is already on course to surpass that after recording two top tens already in 2010, including finishing just one shot behind Hunter Mahan in Phoenix.
And it might just be enough to get some colour back into the green tinged cheeks of Americas who’ve been understandably envious when looking across the Atlantic at the amount of young talent on display.
Martin Kaymer and Chris Wood are those making inroads at the moment and in the last few years Oliver Wilson, Ross Fisher and Sergio Garcia have all kept fans on the edge of their seats.
At the moment however, all eyes are on Rory McIlroy, and the comparisons that are currently being drawn with him and Rickie Fowler, even down to their tousled hair, must be exciting for US golf fans.
It’s been a long time since they have had a young gun to shout about and, if he lives up to the hype being built, he could be the one that reignites a bi of the spark that has been lost in the game stateside.
There is also potential for a Watson/Nicklaus-type encounter, the young pretender against the seasoned No.1, in an enthralling battle in which one struggles invariable to maintain his hold on the power, while the other tries to mussel it away with both hands.
Aside from his youthful flair, the most pleasing thing for our cousins in the States must be the fact that, before setting out to achieve individual goals, like a certain young Mr McIlroy, Fowler has vocalised his desire to play in the Ryder Cup.
That’s his goal for this year, and the former Walker Cup star could be a formidable opponent for any European – not to mention the chance to set up an ‘Our Best Youngester vs. Your best Youngster’ contest, if given the chance.
Fowler and McIlroy certainly seem to be on a Ryder Cup collision course and, when the battle lines are drawn by the respective captains, wouldn’t it be tasty if they were placed in opposition for the deciding match of Sunday’s Ryder Cup singles. My mouth’s beginning to water already.
Many questioned whether or not he had the game to match his colourful outfits and fiery attitude, and until his WGC Accenture Matchplay Championship win, they had every right.
David Duval’s story will go down as one of the most remarkable in the game of golf.
Lee Westwood has called it “bending the rules”, Scott McCarron says it amounts to “cheating”, while the USGA are insisting it’s permitted. Whatever side of the argument you fall on, it appears that the wedge debate has finally begun.
As he (reportedly) continues his treatment for sex-addiction at a clinic in Mississippi, Tiger Woods remains the talk of golf – although, for just about the first time since he plowed his car bonnet-first into a fire hydrant outside his home in Florida, the talk just now centres around his golf and not his infamous “transgressions”.
The first major event of this season’s Tartan Tour has already taken place – even though the circuit’s curtain-raising competition is still 11 weeks away.
The 2010 PGA Tour season crowned its first winner this weekend when Geoff Ogilvy (pictured) won the season-opening SBS Championship.
To listen to some people talk about the state of Scottish golf as we enter 2010, you’d think it was all doom and gloom.
So, Tiger has tucked his tail between his legs, admitted his philandering ways, and taken a hiatus from golf to
The people who have spent the last fortnight fighting Tiger Woods’ somewhat tedious fight for privacy in the wake of revelations about his “transgressions” are missing one very important point – he has made fools of them, too.