Gleneagles, United Kingdom: Behind Rickie Fowler’s sunny disposition and colourful outfits lies a remarkable story of hard times and sacrifice; a tale spanning three generations that is a testament to the human capacity for aspiration and forgiveness.
Consider the 25-year-old, who is the endearing poster boy of this American Ryder Cup team, posing happily with his ‘USA’ haircut and in the cockpit with the pilot before the flight over on Sunday. Now think of the grandfather of Japanese heritage who introduced him to the game. He was hauled off with a number of relatives at the age of six to an internment camp on America’s Pacific coast during the Second World War.
Fowler was not much older when he learnt about their fate. It instilled a ferocious work ethic and an unquenchable desire to make it at his chosen sport, but without the embittered core found so often in such descendants.
“I come from great stock,” he said. “To know where my family came from, what they went through in the internment camps, to see what they believed as far as treating people and treating yourself and your life, that will always stay with me.”
Fowler’s stunning year would have received a lot more acclaim if it had not coincided with Rory McIlroy pipping him to win two majors. But becoming just the third man after Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods to finish in the top five of all four grand slam events in the same year hints at a rivalry with the Northern Irishman that could enrich the game for the next decade.
It is not just in their prowess on the course where the similarities lie. They are two eligible bachelors who live in mansions on the same Jupiter estate in south Florida and often practice side by side at the Bear’s Club. Both had parents who worked all hours to give their offspring a chance.
“I didn’t come from money but my parents worked really hard to give my sister and myself opportunities to play sports and see what we were good at,” said Fowler. “My mum always said that if I worked hard at my golf then I would never have to get a job. And look at me now. I’ve still never had a real job!”
Growing up in Murrieta, California, his father Rod had a deal whereby he would provide sand and gravel from his business to a driving range and in return Rickie was given practice balls to hit. His mum Lynn worked in the office at a steel company.
“Rickie was born to play golf,” Lynn told USA Today this year. “You just knew he was blessed with some gift. By the time he was five his favourite thing was a clinic that taught the etiquette and rules of golf. There was structure to it, you couldn’t cheat and the other kids couldn’t strong arm you out of anything.”
Fowler would soon be playing matches for dollars and dimes. “We weren’t members of clubs or anything like that,” he said. “I’d spend the money I won on better golf equipment. That was always my thing: keep focusing and try to get better. It’s still my thing now.”
It is clear Fowler relishes the idea of a rivalry with McIlroy every bit as much as the latter. “We’ve got to stop Rickie in that American team. He’s their talisman,” said McIlroy on Sunday.
Fowler is up for the rivalry, both this week and beyond.
“There’s definitely the possibility of something big developing between us and it will not be the last time we play against each other at the Ryder Cup,” said Fowler. “I made the same remark to Rory after he beat me at The Open, you know it won’t be the last time we go up against each other and a few matches at Gleneagles would be great.
“The more times we can have some good battles, the better. We have the chance to go back and forth for a long time, though I have a little catching up to do. He’s got the better of me a few times. But both times I have won he has finished second, so it’s fun and the fact we’re buddies just adds to it. We can still go home and practice together and then get to the course and want to beat up on each other as bad as possible.”
This week, the Fowler family through three generations complete a journey that is about as far as it is imaginable to travel.
From the hardship of those war relocation camps to the unstinted splendour of the Gleneagles estate. From an uncertain, frightening world to a present and future resonant with limitless possibility.
