Young Fowler enters PGA Tour with grace and humility

Dale Dhillond ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Orlando, Florida   |  Fri, 11/20/2009 1:06 PM  |  Sports

If you've heard of Murrieta, California, you are indeed in rare company. Not exactly universal is the fact that Juan Murrieta from Spain acquired 52,000 acres of land just east of Los Angeles in 1873 to graze his sheep on what is now aptly known as Murrieta, California.

Juan never could have foreseen that his town and land would someday be the proving ground for the PGA Tour's next promising prodigy in the form of 20-year-old Rick Yukata Fowler, a.k.a. Ricky Fowler.

Ricky's mother Lynn is half-Japanese, half-Native-American. Turning professional in September this year after a spectacular amateur career, Fowler finished tied for seventh in his first PGA Tour event. Next he almost did the unthinkable, i.e. winning a PGA event on his second try (Tiger Woods first won in his fifth professional appearance).

Fowler did the next best thing in finishing second in a playoff. When I asked his father Rod what it was that defined Ricky's success, he said, "He's just very focused, very self-driven, anything he's done he's always done it at the highest level. He's fearless! When he was four years old I built a little bicycle ramp and he would jump over five or six kids in the neighborhood, 15 feet from ramp to ramp."

Fowler is now beginning to jump over his competitors on the PGA Tour.

Rod went on to say that Ricky's golfing life began at age four on the ever so modest Murrieta Valley Driving Range, never to be mistaken with the Jim McLean Golf School.

He was under the tutelage of Barry McDonald. Rod was proud to say that his son continued to hone his skills at this venue until a couple of years ago, when he left for Oklahoma State University.

He also noted that Ricky was a well-behaved child and that he never micro managed Ricky or put any pressure on him. Rod and his wife Lynn were always there to nurture Ricky.

After Ricky had a serious motorcycle accident at age 14, he turned to his father and said he was ready to sell the bike and dedicate himself to golf. This, Rod said, was indicative of the maturity and discipline Ricky exhibited at such a young age.

Ricky's humility was evident even after his first collegiate tournament win. He downplayed matching the course record of 63 at Olympia Fields, Chicago, set by three-time major winner Vijay Singh.

When asked about this feat, Ricky deflected praise by saying the course he played was not set up for a major championship and that he was not under major championship pressure.

I caught up with Ricky after the second round of the Children's Miracle Network Classic in Orlando, the PGA Tour's final event of 2009.

He was sporting his trademark, stylish painter's cap. When I asked if he'd expected to attain the success he'd already had in just two events, Ricky responded, "I knew it would be tough, it's not surprising, but yeah, I didn't really expect to get out this quick and the plan was to go to *the PGA* qualifying school."

Ricky finished 31st in Orlando in only his third PGA event. When taken in its totality, this was a brilliant performance. Two top-10 finishes followed by 31st place in just three events at 20 years of age.

A critical prerequisite for success on the Tour is the ability to have full mastery of one's nerves. When I asked Ricky why he did not appear to reveal negative emotions if his shots went astray, he said, "There's a reason to get mad when you hit a bad shot, but it's only going to hurt you; if you stay mad it's only going to effect your next few shots."

Ricky has turned to trusted longtime friend Joe Skovron to caddie for him. Once a standout junior amateur golfer himself, Joe is intimately schooled in Ricky's game and temperament.

Ricky framed his future with patience and realism when asked where he expected to be going forward. He said he would it take one opportunity at a time, be it on the PGA or the Nationwide Tour.

It almost seemed the young man was heeding implicit advice from a character from Shakespeare's Henry VIII who remarked, "To climb steep hills requires slow pace at first."

Ricky's magical arrival on the Tour is a welcome beacon. He offers his quiet confidence and fashionable flair to a sport that should bestow its due reward upon the young lad in time.

The writer can be reached at dhillond@bellsouth.net

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