In other words, he's Rickie Fowler... and you're not. And you'll never have to decide whether to lay up or go for it in the final round of a PGA Tournament, with a chance to win.
So you may as well not worry your pretty little self about Rickie's decision. (Though chances are, if you're worrying about it, you're not pretty or little).
In fact, if you're expressing indignation or experiencing mild to extreme shock over Rickie Fowler's well-documented decision to lay up yesterday, you're probably a brawny, male, weekend golfer with serious "Go For It!" issues and fantasies fueled on repeated "Tiger-reaching-a-par-5-in-two" replays.
I said probably. I'm guessing. ...or maybe you're Brian Waker. Then you're just doing your job.
It's telling that the last And in Rickie's case everything is somewhat exacerbated by the fact that... he's Rickie Fowler: the "flashy American rookie". The "fresh, fast, fearless newcomer" promising "flair and excitement".
At 21 Rickie Fowler is already followed around by a lot of folklore, in addition to numerous, newly-minted golf groupies. He's got legends to live up to. Already. "Motocross daredevil", "teen prodigy", "...aggressive player, who takes on greens and goes for the jugular...".
Not surprisingly, the fraternity of golf scribes was less than enthusiastic about his decision on the the 15th. They reminisced about Sundays with Tiger and studied Going for the Green stats. Some suggested that yesterday's play showed a lack of confidence, while others surmised it signaled maturity. There was also some banter... largely positive... about Rickie's statement-making PUMA golf apparel. Peter Kessler wistfully wondered if the styles came in "medium dumpy". That made me laugh.In the end just about everyone who follows golf sees great things to come for Rickie Fowler. And there's little doubt that Rickie will be
If you go to the Rickie Fowler Facebook fan page you get an idea of how popular he is, and how engaged with his extremely diverse fans. As would be expected, some of them questioned the "lay up heard around the world"... and Rickie responded.
In between miscellaneous, light-hearted status updates he wrote: "...to clear up the decision on 15...I had 235 to the stick with not much breeze...the tourney is not won on 15 but can be lost...I knew I had a couple birdie holes ahead therefore I did not need to force anything...I felt that an easy layup and... an easy wedge(which I hit well all week) would give me a good look at birdie...if I was 2 or 3 shots back I would have pulled the hybrid...ultimately I just wish I could go re-hit the wedge which I caught a groove low."
Clearly... and fortunately... it seems Rickie is going to be his own kind of player.
Top Photo:Chris McGrath/Getty Images North America
