Rickie Fowler is a cautionary tale in overexposing a superstar

[Paddy_2_Iron]

I always felt he was one mental mistake away from winning 2 - 3 more tourneys.  Does it move the needle, not really but it does give him additional wins.  I remember years ago he went for a par 5 in two needlessly in the round and skipped over the green and ended up finishing second.  He plays that differently I personally feel he wins that tourney.  

 

But like another poster mentioned, not everyone wants to be Jack or Tiger.  

[bscinstnct]

2 hours ago, miamistomp said:

 Has anybody here ever bought anything because Ricky endorsed it ?

 

Ya! Rickie endorsed Octopus balls!

 

Octopus. Then they bake balls,

 

fughedaboudut 😃

 

 

[freeze16172002]

13 hours ago, Paddy_2_Iron said:

I always felt he was one mental mistake away from winning 2 - 3 more tourneys.  Does it move the needle, not really but it does give him additional wins.  I remember years ago he went for a par 5 in two needlessly in the round and skipped over the green and ended up finishing second.  He plays that differently I personally feel he wins that tourney.  

 

But like another poster mentioned, not everyone wants to be Jack or Tiger.  

I think you are talking about the WM tournament where he hit driver over the green into the water on the par 4 17th. He was up by two and lost to Hideki in a playoff. Too his credit he did come back and win that tournament

Edited July 24, 2021 by freeze16172002

[iutodd]

4 hours ago, freeze16172002 said:

I think you are talking about the WM tournament where he hit driver over the green into the water on the par 4 17th. He was up by two and lost to Hideki in a playoff. Too his credit he did come back and win that tournament

I was watching that - the crazy thing about that drive is, IIRC, he hit it literally perfect and it rolled for like 50 yards all the way through the middle of the green and went into the water behind the green. 
 

Look I’m a fan of his so I’m biased but to me it was just a bad break and not a mental mistake.  Even up two - he has to assume Hideki will birdie the hole so he has to be thinking birdie IMO.  And Hideki did finish birdie-birdie so an even par finish wouldn’t have been enough. 18 is certainly birdieable but 17 is the hole for birdie for sure. 
 

He still probably should have won that day - Hideki hit some amazing putts to win - but that’s golf. 

 

[masegolf1978]

Happy to see him playing well today.  Thought he was out of it yesterday.

[TiScape]

3 hours ago, iutodd said:

I was watching that - the crazy thing about that drive is, IIRC, he hit it literally perfect and it rolled for like 50 yards all the way through the middle of the green and went into the water behind the green. 
 

Look I’m a fan of his so I’m biased but to me it was just a bad break and not a mental mistake.

I’ll have to disagree. I’ve played that course a few times and that’s a short, very getable, par four. It was 304 to the front of the green that day. On the left side water was in play at 295. Up by 2, there is no reason to pull driver there. Hit something that gives you full wedge in. Gives you a great chance for birdie, and definitely par. He claimed he didn’t know it would hit a downslope and run 50+ yards. Ok, but you know there is a downslope there and you know it’s in the landing zone of your driver… So there is a chance it goes bad. Up by 2, why take that chance? Hindsight is obviously 20/20, but it was a risk that wasn’t necessary IMO. 

Edited July 24, 2021 by TiScape

[freeze16172002]

2 hours ago, masegolf1978 said:

Happy to see him playing well today.  Thought he was out of it yesterday.

Nice going Jinxy

[Shilgy]

20 minutes ago, freeze16172002 said:

Nice going Jinxy

He’s doing the hokey pokey…..put the right foot in, pull the right foot out.  Can’t seem to decide if he wants to contend or not.

 

Or is it he wants too badly to contend?

 

Or is it he’s happily married and no longer cares?

 

🤔

[miamistomp]

I don't know why we care

He was good now he is a journeyman who just has a lot of media exposure

 

 He was never a Jordan or a Rory

[masegolf1978]

1 hour ago, freeze16172002 said:

Nice going Jinxy

Man, I really got him.  Never knew I had this power!
 

truth be told, I wasn’t even watching but see he made triple on 18!?

[ALIF]

Enough money for the rest of his life, hot wife, baby on the way, is one of the most talented professional golfers on the planet. I’d say his life is pretty good!

[freeze16172002]

1 hour ago, ALIF said:

Enough money for the rest of his life, hot wife, baby on the way, is one of the most talented professional golfers on the planet. I’d say his life is pretty good!

what does that have to do with his playing? and why do you guys always bring up his "hot" wife like your typing with tissues near by? note to you that has never dated a "hot" woman it wears off after awhile

[TiScape]

25 minutes ago, freeze16172002 said:

what does that have to do with his playing? and why do you guys always bring up his "hot" wife like your typing with tissues near by? note to you that has never dated a "hot" woman it wears off after awhile

It’s a bit of a GolfWRX tradition. Talk about a famous golfers struggles… Mention his wealth and hot wife/GF! I don’t get the correlation either 🤷🏼‍♂️

[SamboRoll]

Can someone please explain to me, when Rickie is being spoken of as a superstar, how much of that is because of his pure golf game? If we take away the marketability, Q-factors, and the overall good guy & cool guy vibe -just focus on his golf. He hits it longer than average, especially compared to his size, but not crazy long. Rory trumps him in this departmemt big time. Interesting looking swing, decent ball striker. Used to have somewhat aggressive playing style, but doesn’t everybody in their early twenties? Now has toned it down a tad. His putting stroke is a thing of beauty, I’ll give you that. Technically one of the best out there. Scoring and competing wise seems to lack that final killer instinct in tournament golf. However, still able to contend in every major as we’ve seen. He is, or was, that good overall. Hasn’t improved his game that much for the past few years.

 

I think the fuzz around Rickie (worth 24 Pages in this Forum, lol) is the same bias why attractive looking people are assumed having also other appreciated qualities in them, and therefore receive more favorable treatment. People confuse his other abilities with his golf game and expect too much. Simple as that. Blame marketing and media if you will, but it is his choice to make those endorsements. Rickie is very good Tour player, but I’ll start calling him a star after he wins his first major and a superstar after he bags the second one.

[bogeyk]

I’d say Fowler is an example of getting the most out what he has to offer as a pitchman while being a solid, above average tour pro. Winning is great, but how much of all the millions he’s earned would he give back for a couple more wins or even one major?  I’m sure his marketability, along with seemingly being a good guy, has also given(and will give him in the future) him playing opportunities that many would love to have. Golf is his career and he has been successful on the course, but more so off of the course to the tune of tens of millions of dollars. 

[bscinstnct]

3 hours ago, SamboRoll said:

Can someone please explain to me, when Rickie is being spoken of as a superstar, how much of that is because of his pure golf game? If we take away the marketability, Q-factors, and the overall good guy & cool guy vibe -just focus on his golf. He hits it longer than average, especially compared to his size, but not crazy long. Rory trumps him in this departmemt big time. Interesting looking swing, decent ball striker. Used to have somewhat aggressive playing style, but doesn’t everybody in their early twenties? Now has toned it down a tad. His putting stroke is a thing of beauty, I’ll give you that. Technically one of the best out there. Scoring and competing wise seems to lack that final killer instinct in tournament golf. However, still able to contend in every major as we’ve seen. He is, or was, that good overall. Hasn’t improved his game that much for the past few years.

 

I think the fuzz around Rickie (worth 24 Pages in this Forum, lol) is the same bias why attractive looking people are assumed having also other appreciated qualities in them, and therefore receive more favorable treatment. People confuse his other abilities with his golf game and expect too much. Simple as that. Blame marketing and media if you will, but it is his choice to make those endorsements. Rickie is very good Tour player, but I’ll start calling him a star after he wins his first major and a superstar after he bags the second one.

 

Rickies game as measure be OWGR was apples to apples good enough to rank him in the top-10 in the world for 5 years straight and consistently as low as #5-#7

 

However, clearly the lack of wins is a great disappointment. To him most of all I’m sure.

 

And yes, being “attractive” is often a prerequisite for endorsements and you’re right that being attractive is other appreciated qualities, you put that well. 
 

But in Rickies case, I think his success in endorsements comes in large part from his genuine vibe. 

[freeze16172002]

24 minutes ago, bscinstnct said:

 

Rickies game as measure be OWGR was apples to apples good enough to rank him in the top-10 in the world for 5 years straight and consistently as low as #5-#7

 

However, clearly the lack of wins is a great disappointment. To him most of all I’m sure.

 

And yes, being “attractive” is often a prerequisite for endorsements and you’re right that being attractive is other appreciated qualities, you put that well. 
 

But in Rickies case, I think his success in endorsements comes in large part from his genuine vibe. 

I think alot of his sponsors assumed that he would win a major or more and invested in him thinking that. Now it's hard sell when your guy is outside the top 100 and is missing majors. Cobra golf has to be looking for someone new between rickies on course troubles and Bryson saying the equipment sucks they have no where to turn

[bscinstnct]

23 minutes ago, freeze16172002 said:

I think alot of his sponsors assumed that he would win a major or more and invested in him thinking that. Now it's hard sell when your guy is outside the top 100 and is missing majors. Cobra golf has to be looking for someone new between rickies on course troubles and Bryson saying the equipment sucks they have no where to turn

 

Agree, but there’s a middle ground that Rickie delivered value on.

 

If his sponsors knew that Rickie would have been a top-10 and often #5-7 in the worlds, but his wins would be soft and he’d have no majors, he’d still get a significant amount of the endorsements he got. 
 

Here’s a new Corona commercial with Rickie.

 

Most people who see it won’t even know who he is so they put his name in it! But they won’t care how many wins Rickie has. 
 

 

 

 

Edited July 25, 2021 by bscinstnct

[freeze16172002]

13 minutes ago, bscinstnct said:

 

Agree, but there’s a middle ground that Rickie delivered value on.

 

If his sponsors knew that Rickie would have been a top-10 and often #5-7 in the worlds, but his wins would be soft and he’d have no majors, he’d still get a significant amount of the endorsements he got. 
 

Here’s a new Corona commercial with Rickie.

 

Most people who see it won’t even know who he is so they put his name in it! But they won’t care how many wins Rickie has. 
 

 

 

 

Agree everyone on tour has deals. Ryan Palmer was getting a million a year having the Dallas Cowboys star on his bag, played with his his dentist a few years back. Rickie marketed himself well in the beginning between the dumb orange clothes and the Bieber hair he stood out. 

[rkelso184]

I think everyone needs to stop thinking of his endorsements as being a remification to his results. Golf gets world wide exposure, They are (usually) clean cut athletes with good reputations, polite and tidy. 

 

Think of anyone you can who ticks all of them boxes, regardless of wins. Now think who could pull of some of the marketability like he has. I honestly cant think of any (USA) players who could replace him.

 

His clean cut, polite, has a sense of humor, dresses well, plays well, is well known, draws in a huge youth following, is apart of that "big name" friends circle (speith, JT, Tiger etc) and even his replationship is always in the news. 

 

Imagine someone like Bryson or Brooks or DJ trying to do these comercials. Yes they have had more wins but Rickie kills them all in personailty and marketability. 

[TiScape]

9 minutes ago, rkelso184 said:

 

Imagine someone like Bryson or Brooks or DJ trying to do these comercials. Yes they have had more wins but Rickie kills them all in personailty and marketability. 

Yeah those guys are like golfers first, endorsers second. Whereas Rickie these days seems to be more of an endorser first and a golfer second 🤷🏼‍♂️

[bscinstnct]

2 minutes ago, TiScape said:

Yeah those guys are like golfers first, endorsers second. Whereas Rickie these days seems to be more of an endorser first and a golfer second 🤷🏼‍♂️

Lol, well, I doubt this one ever won the 24 hours of Le Mans 🤣

 

 

 

 

[TiScape]

Just now, bscinstnct said:

Lol, well, I doubt this one ever won the 24 hours of Le Mans 🤣

 

 

 

 

Maybe the 24 hours of 🍋🍋🍋! 

[rkelso184]

46 minutes ago, TiScape said:

Yeah those guys are like golfers first, endorsers second. Whereas Rickie these days seems to be more of an endorser first and a golfer second 🤷🏼‍♂️

Or maybe he understands his true worth through marketability and wants to ensure at the end of his career he doesn't need to do anything ever again! Not everyone can win and if his fail-safe is to put himself out there to make as much money as he can while he can I would say well done. He would have more in sponsorship income than some would have in career wins! 

[TiScape]

1 minute ago, rkelso184 said:

Or maybe he understands his true worth through marketability and wants to ensure at the end of his career he doesn't need to do anything ever again! Not everyone can win and if his fail-safe is to put himself out there to make as much money as he can while he can I would say well done. He would have more in sponsorship income than some would have in career wins! 

Absolutely. Not knocking the guy whatsoever. 

[freeze16172002]

Had the lead after the 10th hole on saturday and finished the tournament T34, that's gotta sting

[YMark]

12 minutes ago, freeze16172002 said:

Had the lead after the 10th hole on saturday and finished the tournament T34, that's gotta sting

He's got to find a way to eliminate blow up holes. That triple on 18 put him out of contention.  Not sure if it's mental or what, but he has to be a tour leader in bogey+ holes. For as many birdies as he makes, he gives way too many strokes back.

[elwhippy]

Suspect swing and waaay overrated. He is a good player. With amazing marketing. Which if baffling. If I was looking for a Pro to sponsor I would want a regular winner. 

[angler99]

2 hours ago, elwhippy said:

Suspect swing and waaay overrated. He is a good player. With amazing marketing. Which if baffling. If I was looking for a Pro to sponsor I would want a regular winner. 

How many "regular winners" do you think are on the PGA tour? According to my research, we have 6 players to win on the PGA Tour more than once this season, and they are all tied at 2 wins. And most of them aren't nearly as a big of name as Rickie. We have Harris English, Stewart Cink, Bryson, Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, and Jason Kokrak each with 2 wins. No one outside of die hard golf fans have ever heard of Harris English and Jason Kokrak. Do you think Stewart Cink deserves Rickie's endorsement deals? Fans of golf like Rickie Fowler and he was relevant on the tour for a long time and he's still young and talented enough to become relevant again.

[SamboRoll]

Fun fact: Rickie Fowler is number 23 at all-time money list leaders, with nearly $40M earned by just playing tournament golf. At the age of 32. Guy would still be set for life without a single sponsor deal. At this stage, do you still play for the money, for majors and legacy, or because it is the lifestyle you’ve grown into?

Edited July 26, 2021 by SamboRoll