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THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP MEDIA CONFERENCE

April 13, 2016

Rickie Fowler

16 Fairway:

CHRIS REIMER: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us today at THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass for THE PLAYERS 2016 media day for this unique and exciting walking press conference, remembering one of the greatest finishing stretches in golf history, certainly in this tournament's history.

I'm Chris Reimer, director of communications for the PGA TOUR, and we're thrilled to have our defending champion Rickie Fowler here with us today.

We'll get to our guest of honor in one minute. First I want to recognize and thank our volunteer leadership team that's all here with us today, the blue coats, and of course our volunteer chair and red coat Michele McManamon. Thank you for all that you do for this event and for representing the more than 1,000 volunteers who make this tournament possible.

Quick explanation of how we're going to make today work. This is our first ever walking press conference, so bear with us as we go through it. We're going to make a series of stops starting here and going all the way to the 18th green to relive Rickie's incredible victory. We'll make sure to take a look at where Rickie was in relation to the lead. You can see our standard bearer here. It was 5:09 p.m. when Rickie was here in the 16th fairway. He was, at that point, three shots behind Sergio Garcia. There were four players tied at 9-under. Ben Martin was at 10-under. And we'll have that at every stop for you.

All of you should have picked up your stat notebooks. We'd encourage you to kind of look at those as we make each stop. They're full of important stats and information, and we've tried to display some of those stats out on the courses, as well. You can see off in the distance there Rickie's shot to two-and-a-half feet, and then you'll see some lines on the green that are stretched out that show the average shot of players going for the green in two that days, which was 46 feet, so a slight difference between what Rickie was able to accomplish on Sunday chasing the lead and what the rest of the field did that day.

We already took a look at the video, so let's get to it.

Rickie, driving down back here to THE PLAYERS Stadium Course today, driving up to the clubhouse, going to the champions' locker, when you look back, what do you think or how does it feel to be here at a tournament where you took down the toughest field in golf?

RICKIE FOWLER: Oh, it's definitely great to be back. A lot of great memories from last year, and we're not too far out. I'm looking forward to getting back here for this year's PLAYERS. Most of the memories were made right here pretty close, 16, 17 and 18 right there. No, this is going to be fun to kind of relive the memories when I'm back here for the tournament. Like you said, best field in golf. The guys that were in contention, and then up against Sergio and Kisner in the playoff, two guys that were playing very well at the time. Yeah, like you said, I get to walk into the champions' locker room now. I don't have to walk to the right, I get to hang a quick left and hang out with a smaller crowd in there.

CHRIS REIMER: Your locker is right next to Jack Nicklaus, so not bad company there at all.

Before we get to this shot at 16, just rewind a few holes. Is there a particular shot that got you into it? I know we've seen the birdies on 13 and 15, but I think you mentioned 12 was also a very important shot. Just talk about what happened before you got to this point.

RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, so the par that I made on 12, as probably a lot of you know, it's a short par-4 just back here. A lot of guys hit a hybrid or a 3-wood off the tee, and I hit 3-wood that day. I hung it out to the right a little bit, hit a tree, and it came back into the bunker. A lot of times when a ball rolls back into a bunker, you end up with sand behind the ball where you're trying to make contact with it. I didn't have a very good lie. Half the ball was sitting in the sand and half was kind of poking out.

We debated just blasting the ball out in the fairway trying to wedge it on and make par. The pin was in the front so it's not exactly good if you end up just short of the green. It's a tough up-and-down.

Somehow I thought of hitting kind of a bladed punch shot, came out perfect, kind of low, a little bit of spin, ended up in the middle of the green. If I didn't pull off that shot, then I wouldn't have had a chance to do what I did.

CHRIS REIMER: And then 13, make a birdie, 15, make a birdie. Was there any point before this shot, where you're like, I've got a chance?

RICKIE FOWLER: Really from 13 -- kind of 13, 14, 15, it was, hey, let's try and finish strong and get the best finish that we can. Coming to the last four holes, at that point I was like, all right, we can birdie the last four and maybe that gives us a chance, kind of one-up myself playing on five.

CHRIS REIMER: Yeah, 11 strokes on the last four holes, no one has ever done that in tournament history dating back to 1983, not to mention you did it while in contention. Let's talk through this shot here. You're 240-some yards out. What was the discussion with you and Joe? What were the thoughts? Obviously you knew you wanted to go for the green in two, but just take us through the shot if you could.

RICKIE FOWLER: Well, as you can see, the ball kind of sits above your feet here, so typically that's going to make the ball go to the left if you make somewhat of a normal swing. That day the wind was in off the left, so it's not exactly an easy shot. Luckily earlier in the week I was hitting some choked-down kind of softer 3-woods on No. 8 because it was playing into the wind.

Originally I was trying to hit it at the palm tree and have it just move to the middle of the green. In a perfect world it would catch the slope, to towards the hole. I decided to push it. It started at the middle of the green, drifted with the wind a little right of where the red stake is now, where my ball ended up, and I hit it solid. The biggest thing was going to be if it cleared and stay far enough left to not go in the water.

Luckily I finally got a good break here because I've been in that water too many times, as everyone. So from this hole on, it was playing to win. It wasn't just trying to get a good finish.

CHRIS REIMER: So if everyone looks out at that red stake, just hear what he said, it was right of that red stake. Was there a moment where you're like, oh, no, that's wet?

RICKIE FOWLER: I knew I hit it good enough, but if it was more -- because the bulkhead kind of goes away from you a little, and if it kept going right, the carry became longer and longer, and it actually landed probably between the edge of the bulkhead and that red stake. Not exactly where you're looking, or you never want to be over there, and it got a good kick.

But I hit it good enough, so we were all right.

CHRIS REIMER: It worked out okay. We'll take some questions.

Q. Did you know, and if so, when (inaudible)?
RICKIE FOWLER: I wasn't sure if they had left. I knew I hadn't seen them much out here the back nine, and a lot of times they don't always walk close to the group, so it is tough to see them. I knew they had a flight out. It wasn't until afterwards that I knew for sure that they had taken off. They wanted to get home. I was quite a ways out, so it wasn't like they were expecting me to do anything special or win. I think they were checked in, and luckily enough, they were able to make a U-turn and get back in time.

Q. Rickie, had you ever -- knowing how much you idolized Fred Couples when you were a kid, have you watched video of the 1996 tournament at any time before this tournament and his shot on 16?
RICKIE FOWLER: I've just seen some of the highlights that have played leading up to the event and around the tournament. That's about it. But to now be a part of the list of the great winners here, it's pretty cool.

Q. And any recollection of seeing Freddie's shot at 16?
RICKIE FOWLER: I mean, I didn't think about it when I did it or anything.

Q. Obviously.
RICKIE FOWLER: No, I've seen the shots that have been hit around here, and his definitely being one of the best.

Q. How much leaderboard watching did you do on the back?
RICKIE FOWLER: I mean, I like to keep an eye on where I'm at and what's going on, so I knew where the guys were at, but the hard part was they had a lot of holes to play. All I could really control was getting in the house as quick as I could and posting a number.

Q. Afterwards last year, you said that 17, the shots that you hit, and we'll get to that, obviously, was a perfect choked down gap wedge so you had no problem with the yardage. What about this shot? Did you stand here and say, this is a perfect yardage or a shot that I've been working on all week?
RICKIE FOWLER: Well, I knew that it fit the shot that I had hit earlier in the week on 8. The hard part was more the lie. You can see it's not just a little slope. I mean, the ball was pretty far above my feet, and with it being that you're ultimately trying to work the ball from left to right, that doesn't make it easy to hit the shot. So I felt comfortable with the number, but it was more trusting that I could pull it off.

Q. If you needed to, would you hit that 260, your 3-wood? Where does that go when you need it to?
RICKIE FOWLER: Normally a 3-wood flies anywhere, yeah, 260 to 270.

Q. If we go back to Sunday and you're that guy at 10-under instead of 8, how are you playing that shot?
RICKIE FOWLER: I think I'm still trying to hit the same shot. I don't think I would have played it any differently. I mean, I'd still be behind at that point trying to make up some ground, and I don't normally look at 18 as one that you can just get birdie.

So this and then looking at 17, having wedge, I think these were the ones that I felt like I needed to take advantage of, and still, if I was at 10, playing in front of guys, I would have still tried to hit that same shot.

Q. When the shot came off and the flight of it, your initial sight, were you nervous?
RICKIE FOWLER: I was a little nervous, because like I said, I was trying to start it at the tree, and it started just left of the white box up there. I mean, it started 10 yards right of where I originally intended, but luckily I was trying to land it almost 10 yards left of the hole, so it gave me that little bit of wiggle room, and luckily we planned for that.

CHRIS REIMER: We'll move up to the 17th tee now. At the end of our walking press conference, we'll obviously have a larger Q & A session.

17 Tee:

ALEX URBAN: All right, here we are at our next stop of this walking press conference. I'm Alex Urban, communications manager for the TOUR. We'll just get right into it, Rickie. Here we are standing at the iconic 17th hole. A lot of history has been made here at this tournament on this tee box, and none probably more so than you who birdied the hole three times on Sunday. You actually hit it a little bit closer to the hole with every shot in regulation. You hit it to 6'10", during the aggregate playoff 6'5", and during the sudden death playoff 4'8". You can actually see we have some white strings that show the average approach for the day. You actually hit it quite a bit closer than everyone else. Just talk about what it meant -- you had just eagled the 16th hole, the crowd was going wild, chanting your name. Talk about your feelings standing back on this tee.

RICKIE FOWLER: Well, I definitely knew that I put myself with a chance to win the golf tournament after making 3 there on 16. It's a long walk around up here, obviously big crowds, loud. Typically there's a little bit of a wait, and I knew -- I've played this hole well. It was a good number for me. Like we mentioned earlier, it was a little off of a gap wedge.

The three times that we've played it, the wind was different every time, so in regulation it was down a little off the right. First playoff was straight down, and then the last was actually down off the left. That's the reason why all three balls ended up at different spots, but they're actually all aimed at the same spot.

From here, basically just my line was straight over the bunker, trying to hit it just left of the hole, which I was able to do in regulation. I stepped up, made a good swing, and ended up just short of the hole left, a putt that I've had before. I made one a couple years ago coming from the top of the slope, and I was on a similar line, so I was able to trust my read there and make the putt.

And then in the first playoff hole, I was actually a little past it, same line, just because it was straight down, not off the right, and that was probably -- of the three putts here, that was the hardest to make. I hadn't really hit a putt from there before. It was kind of a tough read. And then like I said, the wind was a little off the left in the playoff, and that's the reason why the ball drifted right of the flag.

ALEX URBAN: Give us some overall thoughts on what the atmosphere was like out here. The crowd was massive by the time you came through here, even for the first time.

RICKIE FOWLER: It was crazy. I wasn't -- I guess I finished probably about an hour, hour and a half before the leaders, but over the weekend here, obviously it's great crowds. It's fun. It's a lot of energy right here on 16 and 17. To hear the chants of the people walking up, more so during the playoff. I think everyone kind of congregated and was hanging out right here, and the amount of people that hung out and stayed, especially when it got to sudden death and it was Kis and I here, it was pretty cool because it was getting dark. There wasn't a whole lot of light left, and it became a full-on stadium in here.

ALEX URBAN: You can see the three flags we have now out there for the three shots that Rickie hit on Sunday. That one on the right is the one that eventually won you the tournament. Just talk about what it felt like to make that putt in what was your biggest PGA TOUR win on one of the most iconic holes in all of golf.

RICKIE FOWLER: Well, like you said, you mentioned the distances. The one to win was just over four feet, I think, and it was kind of an inside left putt. It was just breaking right. But really the last thing I thought of was, just hit a good putt. I mean, people are -- I knew people were expecting me to make it. I know I can make the putt, but the last thing you want to do is screw it up. Not the best thing to think of when you're having a chance to win THE PLAYERS, but my main focus was to trust what I had done, trust my read, and just hit a solid putt. I could deal with missing the putt by a misread. The last thing I wanted to do was hit a bad putt and having to go on from there.

Definitely not an easy putt to hit under the circumstances, but pretty rewarding.

Q. On the third time you played it in sudden death, I've talked to a few people, witnesses who thought that that ball was in the water, and a couple of the NBC guys said they really hadn't seen anybody aim at the flag or to the right of it, and if you hear Maltbie, when you made contact, he said, "This looks dangerous." What was going through your mind at the time when the ball is in the air?
RICKIE FOWLER: So I watched Kis. He hit a pretty similar shot in our sudden death playoff that he did in our first time around the playoff, and I saw that he landed just over the bunker on the downslope, so that kind of gave me an indication, because the wind was laying down a little, and like I said, it was a little more off the left, that it was playing a little harder. So I went ahead and hit it a little harder than I did the first two times, and I hit it exactly how I wanted to. I was never worried. I knew it was the right number.

The biggest thing was just making sure it didn't drift too much. I still had a little wiggle room there.

Q. And I timed this off the replay. I know you play quick, but after Kis hit, you took 11 seconds to hit your shot, certainly within the framework of pace of play. Were you that decisive about the moment and the shot you were about to hit?
RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, like I said, I saw his, where it landed and how it reacted. I knew that it was playing a fraction longer, so I knew exactly what I needed to do, was still sticking with the same starting point, and from there, like I said, the only reason it ended up right was because of the wind and letting it drift.

Q. Were you nervous at all at any time during the playoff?
RICKIE FOWLER: I mean, always nervous, but the biggest thing is kind of how you control those and handle the nerves. There's not one guy that plays professional golf that doesn't get nervous, especially standing on the first tee, any tournament, especially majors, especially here. When you're going for par-5s in two, you get nervous. But I think it's a little bit -- it's not a scared kind of nervous, it's more of an anxious and you're excited about the moment. But yeah, I mean, all TOUR players get nervous.

Q. Have you ever stood over a shot and wondered what could go wrong instead of what could go right?
RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, I mean, those thoughts can creep through all the time, especially when you're around holes that there's trouble. I mean, if you can kind of get those out, and then the last thought be positive -- but yeah, you have to be aware of what's around you, where the trouble is, and you know what can happen, but when you're able to erase those -- it's more the mental -- when guys make mental mistakes, that's why, if you're not able to focus on what you're trying to do and let those things creep in.

Q. You were able to erase them?
RICKIE FOWLER: Well, being that I've hit it in that water a lot, yeah, it was tough to commit and make sure I was doing what I was doing, but I talked about it over there, that I'd hit that shot on 8 earlier that week, so I knew what to do, it was just about pulling it off.

Q. Rickie, knowing how this hole has decided the fate of so many of your fellow TOUR competitors, any memories growing up of watching the way some of the other guys have played this hole?
RICKIE FOWLER: I mean, I've seen plenty of highlights where the balls ended up in the water. My goal around when I've played this hole the past few years is really just staying dry, and then luckily having good numbers and playing this hole well over the years, I've been able to kind of build confidence and look at this hole when it's not too windy. Today would be a little tougher day, in off the right, but now I come to this hole looking at it as a possible opportunity with the proper pins. Every once in a while you do have to play fairly conservative here.

ALEX URBAN: We'll move on to the next tee.

18 Tee:

CHRIS REIMER: As you can see down the fairway here, three white signs are the average drive that day. It's 286 yards. You can see the yellow and black sticks there. That's where Rickie hit his drive. So before we start with some questions here, we'll go through a few of the stats from his shots here at 18.

Everyone remembers the shots at 17, but it's probably here on this tee box where Rickie continued to separate himself from the field. This is traditionally one of the most difficult holes on the PGA TOUR, and when Rickie was standing on this 18th tee, he was playing a hole that he was the most over par of any hole on TOUR in his PGA TOUR career, so it wasn't a hole where he'd had a whole ton of success, either. In regulation, he hit the second longest drive of the final round, 331 yards. He followed that in the aggregate playoff with a 337-yard drive, which was actually the longest drive of the day, so he had the first and third longest drives that day.

The question is on a course that favors no one, on a course that isn't necessarily meant for long or short players, what happened on this hole that enabled you to be so confident and just bomb a drive out there?

RICKIE FOWLER: I'd been driving it well all week. I hit driver here every day. The only reason my drives were past the average is because a lot of guys hit 3-woods here for the most part, so that's why the average is back, and rightfully so. The widest part of the fairway is about where those are at, and it starts to just get narrower and narrower as you turn left.

Other than I believe the first day, which was into the wind, I still hit driver and had to hit 5-iron in, so it tells you the difference. I hit sand wedge in in regulation. We had wind off the right and down off the right on Sunday, so it made the hole a bit easier when you have that wind just at your back, and I aimed them all at the same spot. I had a point where I kind of used it as a reference. Yeah, these were some key swings that I made here on Sunday, both in regulation and the playoff. It makes it a lot easier when you have a sand wedge in here versus 7-iron or 8-iron, where those guys were.

CHRIS REIMER: You're walking through that tunnel at 17, one of the great shots that PGA TOUR Entertainment got that day.

RICKIE FOWLER: I was really just trying to stay focused and not worry too much about what was going on. I mean, everyone is chanting, and obviously, yeah, I can hear that. People want high fives and everything, but I was trying to focus on what I was doing next and not get caught up in the moment or get too excited. I knew that coming here in regulation, this was probably the toughest shot I was going to face, and if I could get this in the fairway, get a chance to look at birdie -- I originally thought that birdie may have a chance to win outright, and you're playing against the best players in the world. I had a chance to not have a position in a playoff, gives us a chance to win it outright here on 18. That's how golf is. You can't think too far ahead.

CHRIS REIMER: So you hit the approach, you made the second longest putt of all the players on Sunday. Obviously yours was for birdie. How important was it to get a read on that putt? You were playing with Derek Fathauer. He had a very similar putt. How much did that read help you?

RICKIE FOWLER: Well, I definitely have to give him the assist. He's a good buddy. We've grown up playing some amateur golf, college golf together and against each other, and we had a good time that Sunday. To see his putt kind of reassured me on my read, and I got to see the last few feet what it was going to do. I maybe played it a little higher than where I originally would have, but just seeing a ball roll on a similar line just gives you that little bit of extra confidence on where you're playing the putt and what speed. Yeah, it was not an easy putt. I think it probably broke a few feet, and just one of those ones you're trying to feed down the hill. Pretty cool. Like I said, I thought that might have a chance to win outright. Had to go sit, wait, warm up again, and we had lot of golf to play.

18 Green:

ALEX URBAN: We're here at the 18th green next to some well-earned hardware for you, Rickie. I'm sure it feels pretty great to be back here at TPC Sawgrass. We've already talked about how historic your finish was playing the last four holes in 11 shots. It was really a showcase of excellence inside the ropes, really the best finish we've had in history. Now, you might be aware that we've never had a repeat champion here, so talk about what it means to come back here and get a chance to defend your title.

RICKIE FOWLER: Well, I'm definitely not going to come back and just try to play for second, so I'm looking forward to it. I mean, and rightfully so. It's one of the hardest events to win with the field that is always here.

It'll be a fun week. Just coming back and seeing some of the stuff around the clubhouse and being able to walk into the champions' locker room, what are we here, in four weeks or so? Yeah, it's going to be fun. Just walking up onto 18 green, I was just thinking, like man, it's a lot smaller than I remember and there's a lot more slope. I'm sure we'll get reacquainted with the course.

Q. (Inaudible.)
RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, I mean, my parents, everything that they did to give me the opportunity to play. They basically did anything and everything. This was what I wanted to do, and my mom was basically my manager, travel agent, everything growing up. I picked my schedule and where we were able to go play and stuff, and she'd work on making sure I could get there and back and where I was staying. Yeah. She was a mom. She did well.

Q. (Inaudible.)
RICKIE FOWLER: I wasn't. I didn't see them until after I went out to the range, hung out there for a while, and then had warmed up and come back in and saw them right before I went to go to the playoff.

Q. How many times does your mind wander back to that last Sunday, and is there anything particular that comes to mind or all of it comes to mind?
RICKIE FOWLER: I mean, I've thought back through a lot of it, especially when people ask about it. It's hard not to think about all the shots. I've definitely thought back to the swings I made off 18 tee, thought about that on the last tee at the Scottish, and the win here and what I did down the stretch has definitely assisted me and helped me win the three since then.

Q. Did you find this golf course or do you find it rewarding for aggressive play, or are there go shots and sometimes no-go shots?
RICKIE FOWLER: I mean, you can't play overly aggressive here. I mean, it can jump up and bite you. But also with how small the targets are, it's a tough driving golf course in places, with the greens being fairly small. You can't play too conservative. You definitely -- I feel like it is beneficial to play somewhat aggressive. You're going to make mistakes here and there, but you can't try and avoid mistakes here.

Q. Big story line last year was a lot of players calling you overrated coming into TPC here. Do you think the perception has changed? It's been a year now. Is that something that still sits in your gut when you get on the course?
RICKIE FOWLER: I mean, I think it may have been a big story line media-wise or outside, but it was something that was pretty laughable from the players' side looking in, especially on mine. I think I was ranked 10th in the world at the time. Yeah, they really nailed that poll.

I mean, winning was -- came at a nice time. Looking back, it didn't really mean anything or matter to me what the poll said. Like I said, it was kind of funny.

Q. (Inaudible.)
RICKIE FOWLER: I won in Abu Dhabi.

Q. Where is your game right now?
RICKIE FOWLER: Game is good. Really the only hiccup was last week at the Masters, I made a couple mental mistakes, which I definitely didn't plan on, didn't want to go through that week like that. But yeah, I've played very consistent. I've had some good finishes. I've had chances to win. I got the win in Abu Dhabi early in the year. So no, it's definitely been the fastest start to the year, my best start that I've had so far.

Q. Do you feel like you're playing better at this stage prior to the tournament than you may have last year at the same time?
RICKIE FOWLER: I mean, I would definitely think that I'm a better player, yeah, and I've played better at the start of the year than I have through my whole career.

Q. Talk a little bit about the fans here in Jacksonville and the week you spend here in Jacksonville every year. I know you like to get into Jacksonville Beach, some of the restaurants.
RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, it's always a fun week here. A lot of times we rent a house. I have a few friends coming out from California this year, and my family is typically here. Some home-cooked meals. I always go to TacoLu. That's my spot to feel like a local here. They're awesome over there. Getting to know Deb, and what's her husband's name? Don. Two D's. It's easy to remember. I know they bring it out here. They have the Tacos on 12, so that's been pretty cool.

And then having a few other guys that live here that play on TOUR -- we always go over to Jim Furyk's house. He usually has a dinner with some guys, and it's just a fun week altogether, on the course, around Jax Beach areas. It's fun to go hang out, hang by the beach, and then the fans here. Like we talked about back on 16 and 17, and how long they hung around and how many people gathered for the playoff, it was pretty cool.

Q. (Inaudible.)
RICKIE FOWLER: Well, luckily I have some good buddies that are helping me, too, with Rory, Jason, Jordan. The list goes on. Golf has definitely helped me kind of teach me a lot of life lessons. It's a special game.

I know the First Tee does a lot of great things in teaching kids growing up on how golf can help, on the golf course but also in the classroom. I think it's one of the most special games that is able to teach you a lot of life lessons along the way, and there's so much that can come from it, and you can use golf down the road, whether you're good or not, networking, and there's so much business done on the golf course. Luckily I get to do it for fun and business. Yeah, it's been cool to be a part of this younger generation coming in, like I said, with some other guys that are having a pretty good influence on the younger generation coming behind us.

Q. Jack Nicklaus came out last week and said your generation (inaudible) make it fair for other players. What's your thought on that?
RICKIE FOWLER: I hadn't heard that. I know he's talked about it a lot. Yeah, the golf ball is probably one of the biggest improvements over the years. Equipment is regulated to how fast it can be. For the most part they're just a lot more forgiving than they used to be. I love going and hitting persimmon woods and old golf balls because it definitely brings a lot more skill into it as far as having to hit it perfect in the center and controlling the golf ball. But I mean, everyone is kind of on the same playing field right now. Everyone is using a similar style of equipment as far as we're inside the regulations. Same thing on the golf ball.

It's a level playing field, but I think it's hard to step back once you've already moved forward.

Q. (Inaudible.)
RICKIE FOWLER: Well, he hit it too far.

Q. And he admitted that, hey, it's the ball. If only winning a major championship or winning here can get you in that conversation (inaudible)?
RICKIE FOWLER: I wouldn't say it's the only way. I mean, if I continue to play well and continue to win golf tournaments -- the number one goal on my list, yeah, I want to win a major, and I want to win multiple, but to do that, I've got to get my first one. One is passed, but we've got three left this year, so there are definitely some highlights, with the Ryder Cup being this year. I think it would be pretty cool to be down in Rio, be on the Olympic team. Yeah, I'd like to win a major, but we're going to have some fun this year outside of that, too.

Q. You have a little bit of a pied piper thing going with kids (inaudible). If you were a kid trying to get Rickie Fowler's autograph, what would be your advice to that kid to be successful, and how do you view your responsibility as a professional to be a good role model for these kids?
RICKIE FOWLER: Best way to get my autograph? Best way is -- well, I don't sign on the golf course, so that's not a good spot to show up. I'm obviously trying to get some work done, practice and get ready for the tournament. I love seeing the fans out there, and I always sign once I'm done playing, whether it's nine holes or 18. So I'll sign after the round. Same thing during the tournament, once I'm done playing. So I'd say that's the best way.

As far as kind of the obligation or role, I feel like I had a lot of great role models growing up and guys that I looked up to, and then I've had some guys in front of me that I've been able to look up to that played on TOUR and have been able to learn from them. But to have the following and the amount of fans that I've been able to accumulate along the way has continued to grow. It's fun to see them out there, and I feel like I want to be a good role model to the younger generation. I talked about the other guys that are having the influence. I feel like everyone is doing a great job. But yeah, there's no reason to teach any of them any bad habits, and a lot of that came from my upbringing, my parents and grandparents and coach growing up, that if any of that happened, if clubs were broken or thrown, they were gone. That's kept me in line.

Q. What's the best autograph you ever got when you were a kid?
RICKIE FOWLER: Best autograph? I wasn't a big autograph or picture guy. I think sometimes it's funny, when people are running all over the place trying to get autographs and pictures, which is really cool. I love being in the position and being someone that is influential or a role model, but I was more someone that just kind of was laid back. I never really got star-struck or anything. I enjoyed watching the guys play. We used to get to standard bear for The Skins Game out in the desert, and it was just fun being around. But no, I never really ran around and did autographs or pictures much.

ALEX URBAN: We want to thank Rickie for his time today. Rickie, any overall thoughts as we prepared to close your section of the day?

RICKIE FOWLER: Thanks for coming out. This is a pretty good showing. Come out in four weeks; I'll be back. Hopefully we'll be here, and it will be almost five weeks from now, and hopefully we can have a chance at winning this again. It's going to be a fun week. It always is. It's a great venue, and we have fun here.

Q. (Inaudible.)
RICKIE FOWLER: Oh, yeah, and don't forget, while you're here for the tournament, have the Fowler mules. They'll be good.

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