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Rickie Fowler sees Open Championship as chance to cure major headache

REUTERS
REUTERS

Among golf’s elite, it is the most undesirable title of all: best player never to have won a major.

Right now, it belongs to Rickie Fowler, although some knowledgable judges are known to champion the world No5, Jon Rahm.

But that is premature. At only 23, the burly Spaniard has yet to fully mature as a contender at golf’s very highest level.

So Fowler, who yesterday opened the 147th Open Championship at Carnoustie with a one-under par 70, it is. In each of the four major championships, the 30-year-old Californian has recorded a brace of top-five finishes.

(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

He has been runner-up in three of the four — the Masters, the US Open and The Open. In the US PGA, his best is a tie for third.

Waiting behind the 18th green on Sunday evening to congratulate another new champion is an unofficial ceremony with which Fowler is all too familiar.

Still, it is in The Open where he has shone brightest. The inherent vagaries of links golf seem to suit the temperament and shot-making ability for which Fowler is well known. He certainly enjoys the challenge.

“It’s fun to go out on a links and hit shots that don’t necessarily have to be spot-on,” says the former Scottish Open champion.

(PA)
(PA)

“It’s about managing the game, working your way around the course and putting yourself in the right position. I just love to manufacture shots. And it’s fun to play the game more on the ground than in the air.

“It’s nice to show off my ball-striking. Seeing pictures and watching links golf on television showed me how it is played. I knew it was something I was going to enjoy as soon as I got over here. And I was right. I’ve always loved it, being here at the home of golf and being able to hit a number of different shots.”

That sort of inventiveness was certainly a big part of yesterday’s play on the Angus coast. With the Carnoustie fairways sometimes close to frictionless surfaces, balls were running and running.

More than one player drove the first green, which is 385 yards from the tee. Even more drove over the green at the 358-yard third. With ball control at such a premium, Fowler was quick to call it a “good, fun day”.

(AP)
(AP)

Which is just about as expansive as he ever gets. In contrast to his public image, Fowler’s verbal output is notoriously dull, a fact that has done little to diminish his wider appeal and commercial opportunities.

Gifted and highly-visible — especially on Sundays, when he invariably goes with an orange outfit in tribute to his alma mater, Oklahoma State University — he has much to offer when it comes to promoting the game that has already made him a very rich young man.

But where his golf game is extrovert, exciting and risky, his personality never veers too far from the middle of the road — or fairway. His verdict on the fast-winning Carnoustie course was typically cautious.

“It’s fun seeing a place as burnt-out and fast as this, tee to green,” he said. “The harder you hit a shot, the further it can go offline. Some shots you’re trying to hit in the air to keep the ball from running too much. And on others you can go ahead, let it run out there and use the ground. You definitely have to pick your spots wisely.”

The same will be true on day two of Carnoustie’s eighth Open Championship. But with a twist.

(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

In the company of Rahm and Englishman Chris Wood, Fowler is expecting what he called “a little more weather”. Not that he is likely to complain about a little wind and rain.

In 2011, at Sandwich, Fowler distinguished himself en route to an eventual tied-fifth finish with a two-under-par third round of 68 that could have been even lower in foul conditions.

“Once you get more wind, it can get tough to stop the ball,” he points out. “There’s not really a safe play really anywhere on this course.

“And if you do lay-up into a somewhat wider area, you are left with a longer and tougher second shot.

“So we’re going to have to take some gambles here and there and challenge some fairway bunkers. It’s a true test of golf.”

And one more chance to break that major duck.