Posted on 06/14/2014 3:27:09 PM PDT by FlJoePa
PINEHURST, N.C. -- Many kids in Rickie Fowler's generation just don't get it, that's what the Old Schoolers like to say, anyway. The twenty-somethings don't respect history, don't appreciate who came before them, and don't see any cause as bigger than their own daily pursuits.
On the surface, Fowler can come across as the too-cool-for-school face of that perception. He has fame and fortune despite only one PGA Tour victory to his name. He wears hip clothes, appears in cute, if self-congratulatory, commercials, and plays in a faux band on YouTube with a circle of fellow pampered golfers.
Oh yeah, and the ladies have noticed he looks like Johnny Depp to boot.
Even though he will only do it for the first round of the U.S. Open, Rickie Fowler's tribute to the late Payne Stewart showed that he understands more than just what goes on inside the ropes.
Only around tour, Fowler is known as a genuine soul, as real as the day is long. So when he walked into the Pinehurst locker room Thursday morning dressed up as one of his heroes, Payne Stewart, some of his U.S. Open competitors were taken aback but not surprised.
(Excerpt) Read more at espn.go.com ...
They sure have a better idea of where it is going than I did at that age - and I played in college and did a few mini-tour series in my day.
Of course, that was w/ Macgregor persimmons, Hogan Apex, and balata balls. If I had this new equipment, I wonder if I would have ever practiced because you almost have to try to miss a fairway nowadays w/ these drivers. Of course, under pressure, all bets are off w/ any equipment - which is what makes the game so great.
Seems like we’re barking up the same tree! I had a funny conversation with Ernie E one night about equipment. He thinks it’s a joke and blames it equally on the ball and the drivers.
I asked him if he would participate in an event w/ persimmon, forged blades, and balata and he said “In a heartbeat!”. Then he winked at me and said he’d win it as well.
At the Open, the year after his win [and subsequent death], all of the golfers wore knickers in the 1st round of play to honor him ...
Means about as much as my -2 round in steady rain during the 1996 Maryland Amateur.
Fowler did say in a response to an interviewer on Thursday something to the effect that if he were fortunate enough to be in contention on Sunday, there might be a chance of "orange knickers" honoring Stewart.
As a young pro golfer, he has been a great representative for youth to this point, and at a time when they badly need that kind of leadership and respect for tradition.
Like I said - everything I’ve seen lends itself to exactly what you said about Fowler.
There have always been pricks and good guys in that world. It’s not like the bad ones are thugs, they’re just in their own little worlds - that ironically revolve around themselves.
They tend to be surly to golf staffs. Bad tippers at local restaurants. Bad drunks sometimes at bars.
Floyd and Norman immediately come to my mind. Jack at times too. There is no shortage of modern day equivalents.
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