Rickie Fowler is a cautionary tale in overexposing a superstar

[GolfTurkey]

It’s funny but good looking people seem to either be ascribed to have more talent than they have or people like writing/talking about better looking people. Don’t get me wrong, Rickie has tons of it but so do other people with similar rankings over the years.

 

People prefer to agonize about what could have been with Ricky or Michelle Wie far more than *insert average looking pro here*. Kind of like all the tennis pundits ruminating on how Ana Ivanovic could return to the top or what Eugenia Bouchard needs to do to rediscover her form. 

[Christosterone]

36 minutes ago, miamistomp said:

 Fowler has a good career going but probably not gonna catch Weiskopf

 Tom won his last PGA tourney at about 39 years of age  ( 16 PGA wins including the Open)

 Rickie is 32  with 5 PGA wins

No knock on Fowler but his visibility has overshadowed his performance and with his earnings would he even want to stay on tour when he is 40 ?

 

 And yes, to any clowns out there - like you, I  have won no PGA events but my band did open for Iggy Pop - so there  😝

 

     

 

fair enough...plus weiskopf was more like dj anyway...

everyone, jack included, said he was simply more talented than everyone else...

 

love weiskopf....and I’m a rickie fan...so maybe wishful comparing on my part

 

-Chris 

[aenemated]

1 hour ago, miamistomp said:

I  have won no PGA events but my band did open for Iggy Pop - so there  😝     

 

Haha I've played a couple Dead Kennedys songs onstage with Jello Biafra. 😄 

[ebrasmus21]

Rickie is better than Jake Owen.  So there’s that. 

[jordan2240]

I imagine a lot of professional athletes are simply trying to make a nice living, and don't necessarily care about being the best.  I'd say Rickie has achieved that nicely.  I'd sure like to have underachieved like he has.

[bscinstnct]

Rickie getting roasted by his wife ; )

 

 

 

 

[SUPERG]

Simply contenting every damn week is enough. People always seem to want to feel sorry he doesn’t win enough, but that’s just how the cookie crumbles. Wins mean money sure, but not on the same basis as the endorsement stuff. This and the Rahm to Callaway thing always bring out the “money talks” crowd. Yes money does indeed talk, and of course people will listen. Rickie or Rahm would take the money JUST LIKE THE HACKS WHO COMMENT HERE. Just strange that people belittle making money!

[Holy Moses]

47 minutes ago, SUPERG said:

Simply contenting every damn week is enough. People always seem to want to feel sorry he doesn’t win enough, but that’s just how the cookie crumbles. Wins mean money sure, but not on the same basis as the endorsement stuff. This and the Rahm to Callaway thing always bring out the “money talks” crowd. Yes money does indeed talk, and of course people will listen. Rickie or Rahm would take the money JUST LIKE THE HACKS WHO COMMENT HERE. Just strange that people belittle making money!

Rickie is in the midst of a swing change, but I don’t think that’s the only thing he’s struggling with. He’s already got more money than he’ll

ever need. But he continues to take on sponsors that drain his time and energy. Butch called him out over this. He’s awfully close to missing majors and WGCs next year. At what point do you care about winning a major more than winning your next sponsor? 

[ebrasmus21]

3 minutes ago, Holy Moses said:

Rickie is in the midst of a swing change, but I don’t think that’s the only thing he’s struggling with. He’s already got more money than he’ll

ever need. But he continues to take on sponsors that drain his time and energy. Butch called him out over this. He’s awfully close to missing majors and WGCs next year. At what point do you care about winning a major more than winning your next sponsor? 

I was sort of thinking the swing change was the start of his focus shifting back to golf.  
 

I know he still has a million sponsors and commercials and what not but possibly at the end of this sponsor-run maybe it’ll be back to golf.  Why else change your swing at his age/point of his career? 
 

in other words, if he wants a chance of getting his game back he’ll have to put in the time, no? 

[BlackDiamondPar5]

1 minute ago, Holy Moses said:

Rickie is in the midst of a swing change, but I don’t think that’s the only thing he’s struggling with. He’s already got more money than he’ll

ever need. But he continues to take on sponsors that drain his time and energy. Butch called him out over this. He’s awfully close to missing majors and WGCs next year. At what point do you care about winning a major more than winning your next sponsor? 

That's the key point if you ask me Moses. I didn't really see anyone else grab onto that point. Yeah he's got it all and maybe he doesn't need anymore, but if he wants to keep that endorsement ATM running for years then he'd better not make a habit of missing majors or the WGC.

 

[grm24]

5 hours ago, Christosterone said:

Tiger spoiled us...so did Phil...and rory and VJ Singh

So did Vijay who is always overlooked when it comes to PGA Tour wins/accomplishments during the Tiger era and still is overlooked when it come's to current player comparisons. Being the world number 1 taking it from Tiger head to head in 2004 in Boston, taking number 1 again in early 2005, PGA Tour Player of the year, PGA Player of the Year, FEC Winner, Vardon Trophy winner, 3 time PGA Tour money list leader, 9 wins on the PGA Tour in 2004. 17 wins on the PGA Tour between 2003-2005. One of Tigers alleged career rivals didn't accomplish much if any of that on tour.

Edited December 8, 2020 by grm24

[miamistomp]

 Patrick Reed - same age - better resume and a Masters

 Different strokes for different folks

 You may not like him - but he comes to play

 

Let the snark begin ( he may be rich, lucky and a flat brim saint but he will probably not catch Spieth )

Again- I like Rickie and he is a fine player but his reputation exceeds his on course success

 

 

[Dicka]

Could always be he's just found a great work/life balance and is content with how his life is panning out.

[freowho]

10 hours ago, Dr. Block said:

Sometimes I wonder about the process that cranks this garbage out. I mean, we all have to eat, so I shouldn't begrudge the guy doing his job, but I wonder if he really had anything to do with the idea for this piece. It just doesn't read that way. It reads like it was assigned to him by some editor specifically schooled in how to generate ad revenue.  

It's the same writer that had a crack at Bryson isn't it? Chamblee of the typewriter. 

[freowho]

7 hours ago, GolfTurkey said:

It’s funny but good looking people seem to either be ascribed to have more talent than they have or people like writing/talking about better looking people. Don’t get me wrong, Rickie has tons of it but so do other people with similar rankings over the years.

 

People prefer to agonize about what could have been with Ricky or Michelle Wie far more than *insert average looking pro here*. Kind of like all the tennis pundits ruminating on how Ana Ivanovic could return to the top or what Eugenia Bouchard needs to do to rediscover her form. 

I agree.

Physical prowess is apparently a bigger waste than mental strength. If only those navy seals had spent more time on their golf swing. Such a waste.

[Valtiel]

14 hours ago, bscinstnct said:

 

But then again, it could be his attitude of non-hunger that has enabled the success he has. 
 

He is happy with what he has. Nothing wrong with that at all. Every single person could learn from that. Some have seemingly everything and are happy with nothing.

 

Of course, in his case, playing golf for a living (how insane is that?!), makin 20MM a year, and marrying a female pole vaulter with model looks is more than enough to be thankful for. 

That is a really good point. I can easily imagine a parallel universe Rickie that is too hard on himself, too competitive, and too stuck in his head that ends up choking the talent he does have and ends up being the worse golfer. The internet would of course tell him to relax and lighten up a bit, much like we do with Spieth now. 😄
 

5 hours ago, bscinstnct said:

Rickie getting roasted by his wife ; )

 

 

 

 

Haha, I love that last line! "And then......we switch!" 😆

[jomatty]

Seems like he is doing ok to me.  Not everyone can be an all time great. He may have underperformed on the course but he has overperformed in making money.  If he is happy, and he has plenty of reasons to be happy, then what do I care?

[freeze16172002]

16 hours ago, Dr. Block said:

5 PGA Tour wins, 2 European Tour wins, 1 Asian Tour win (over Rory), and 1 Hero World Challenge is not an insignificant career to this point.

 

I wonder how many of his peers (players who started their careers at roughly the same time) have done better. I bet the list is a lot shorter than most would think. I am not much of a stats hound, but I would be interested to see that list if anyone can assemble it.  

The list of who has done better is longer then the list of who has gotten more exposure

[Christosterone]

As an aside, I’m watching pole vaulting in the next olympics...

 

 

[Dr. Block]

1 hour ago, freeze16172002 said:

The list of who has done better is longer then the list of who has gotten more exposure

Do you think Ricky is undeserving of his fame? 

[Hawkeye77]

He has “it” and he’s really good. There’s “it” and there’s “should have” it, why doesn’t “x” have “it”, not fair I don’t have “it”. 
 

The article was a very brief, “let’s pick on Rickie this week” sort of grab some low hanging fruit puff piece. 
 

I doubt if Rickie will tape it to the fridge. On the other hand, I’m surprised he hasn’t won more and hope he gets his swing sorted out and has more success. 
 

The money? He has “it”! 

[ebrasmus21]

37 minutes ago, Dr. Block said:

Do you think Ricky is undeserving of his fame? 

Well, we have Rickie doing this on a regular basis: 

 

 

When he could be doing this: 

 

 

So, I believe he deserves his fame and I'm grateful for what he has done with it. 

[Soloman1]

That last photo is a DQ. Pack your stuff up and get outta here.

 

[gators78]

His stats are slipping slightly and he's under 1 for strokes gained total for the first time since 2014. He's just meh in a few categories and here we are. 

[Dr. Block]

16 minutes ago, ebrasmus21 said:

Well, we have Rickie doing this on a regular basis: 

 

 

When he could be doing this: 

 

 

So, I believe he deserves his fame and I'm grateful for what he has done with it. 

I completely agree. I like Ricky, and he is great for the game. 
 

freeze kept hammering the exposure thing home. I wanted to see if he wanted to expand a little on it.  Obviously Ricky has a lot of exposure; only one player in the last 20 years has had more. 

[jholz]

You guys all realize that a professional golf career was kind of an accident for Rickie. Right?

 

He wasn't groomed from youth like Tiger. He's never put out the kind of hype that a DeChambeau, Koepka, or Reed puts out there. I don't think I've ever heard Rickie say anything along the lines of "I want to be the best player in the world" or "I want to break the major record" or anything of that nature. I have never gotten the sense that he is driven by those kinds of goals.

 

There are, obviously, others who have had that "win at all costs" mentality. And they did/do tend to win. You can't deny it. 

 

But, isn't it funny how "winners" like Tiger and Reed tend to leave a trail of human rubble in their wake? Isn't it funny how the hype machines like DeChambeau always seem slightly disappointed in themselves and their lives? Isn't it funny how Vijay got into trouble over deer antler spray, of all things, and he's still out there grinding away for who knows what reason?

 

All I can say is that I would much rather have Rickie's life over any of those others. I would argue that he is winning on a much larger and more meaningful scale, IMHO. 

[tbowles411]

I was reminded by listening to the coverage of Peter Alliss' death.  Back in the day, golfers didn't come into the game saying anything other than they wanted to make a living.  That was it.  Winning is good and all, but maybe this was all he wanted to do?  As @jholz stated in part, his motivation probably wasn't more than, I want to be a pro and win.  Not everyone is cut out to be a world beater.  Remember, they're playing our favorite game as a job and get all that goes along with it.  That's not a bad way to make a living.

[dlygrisse]

20 hours ago, Soloman1 said:

It's too bad Rickie Fowler isn't more of a "super achiever." He could learn a thing or two from the people on GolfWRX - who are all the greatest and most brilliant, high net-worth performers in their career fields.

The fact is he really never had the game to dominate.  What he does have is a very engaging personality, good looks and an incredible agent who has made him super wealthy through media dollars.  If you took another good college player, who had the same record and skills as Rickie, sent him to the tour, he had the same success on tour as Rickie, but the guy looked like the back side of a mule, was fat, had pimples and crooked teeth and didn't talk to the media, everyone would think he was an over achiever not an under achiever, with Rickies record.  

He has 5 amateur wins

5 PGA tour wins in 9 years, including the Players

2 Euro tour wins

1 Asian tour win

1 Hero World Challenge.   

 

Rickie built a brand image, it made him wealthy beyond most of our dreams, his game really hasn't lived up to the image, but it hasn't been horrible either.  I mean he's not Tiger Woods or even Phil, but most of the guys on tour would gladly trade places with his record.  

[Titleist99]

1 hour ago, ebrasmus21 said:

Well, we have Rickie doing this on a regular basis: 

 

 

When he could be doing this: 

 

 

So, I believe he deserves his fame and I'm grateful for what he has done with it. 

Nuff Said!!!!!

[Hawkeye77]

1 hour ago, jholz said:

You guys all realize that a professional golf career was kind of an accident for Rickie. Right?

 

He wasn't groomed from youth like Tiger. He's never put out the kind of hype that a DeChambeau, Koepka, or Reed puts out there. I don't think I've ever heard Rickie say anything along the lines of "I want to be the best player in the world" or "I want to break the major record" or anything of that nature. I have never gotten the sense that he is driven by those kinds of goals.

 

There are, obviously, others who have had that "win at all costs" mentality. And they did/do tend to win. You can't deny it. 

 

But, isn't it funny how "winners" like Tiger and Reed tend to leave a trail of human rubble in their wake? Isn't it funny how the hype machines like DeChambeau always seem slightly disappointed in themselves and their lives? Isn't it funny how Vijay got into trouble over deer antler spray, of all things, and he's still out there grinding away for who knows what reason?

 

All I can say is that I would much rather have Rickie's life over any of those others. I would argue that he is winning on a much larger and more meaningful scale, IMHO. 

The accident was a literal accident when he was a kid and got more serious about golf at age 14, but his pro golf career was no accident - he was clearly driven in golf, very self-motivated.  His high school and tournament career was pretty darn good, and as a frosh at OSU became the first freshman to win the Ben Hogan Award, was on some All-America lists and had a terrific Walker Cup record - he was driving to become a professional golfer and got there.

 

As for his inner psyche, no idea.  The Tiger and Reed stuff is a function of their unique personalities for sure but plenty of golfers in history who would want to cut out someone's throat on the course without leaving a "trail of human rubble".

 

Totally agree, he's had a great life.  I agree with the OP on wanting him to succeed as well.  Just a fact of life in sports if you aren't winning you get hassled if you don't meet "expectations" - I'd like to see an actual article dig a little deeper than what this one did, the only thing new about it is I guess the revelation he has more sponsors than wins, but Darcy probably got that tag from the dozens of similar pieces about Fowler.

 

Again, no idea, but he seems to have a nice balance, maybe he is satisfied with that and that's okay.

 

At least people are talking about him!  Check that box for the sponsors for now.

Edited December 8, 2020 by Hawkeye77