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ABU DHABI HSBC GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPJanuary 14, 2015Rickie FowlerABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES SCOTT CROCKETT: Rickie, thanks, as always, for coming in. Welcome to Abu Dhabi, your first time here. Give us your thoughts on, first of all, being here, and the week ahead. RICKIE FOWLER: Definitely excited to be here. First time here. I haven't played on The European Tour very much, so excited to kind of expand that, and look forward to more trips to this part of the world and throughout Europe in the near future. So far, everything's been great here. Course looks awesome. Played nine holes yesterday and as far as coming over here beforehand, all I heard were good things. So I'm definitely excited for the week. SCOTT CROCKETT: Give us your thoughts on the nine you played, the back nine, I think you said. RICKIE FOWLER: I played the back nine. Being that I got in Monday night, quite a long flight, so still kind of getting my feet underneath me, and it was just fun to get out. Course is in great shape. Greens look awesome. Tee‑to‑green, it was pretty much immaculate. Excited for the Pro‑Am today. I'm sure I'll get paired up with some pretty cool and interesting guys from this part of the world. So looking forward to that and see if we can get ready to tee it up and go get ourselves in contention. SCOTT CROCKETT: And a good draw, obviously playing with your friend, Rory, and then Matteo, one of our rising stars in Europe. Looking forward to that? RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, I'll be the old guy in the group that. Doesn't happen very often but we'll have a good time. I've gotten to play with both of them quite a bit before. Obviously Rory and I got to play a bit last year, a couple final groups, and we'll see if we can make it a little bit more fun this week. Obviously we talked about earlier, going to The Irish Open and playing later this year, Rory's foundation being a bit more involved in the golf tournament. Excited and looking forward that trip, Royal County Down being my favourite golf course in the world, and relive some Walker Cup memories there. Q. Welcome to Abu Dhabi. After such a great 2014 for you, such a strong season, especially in all the majors, it would be forgiven for thinking that you would want to do exactly the same schedule again for 2015. I just wondered why slipping in Abu Dhabi and changing up after having such a great 2014 schedule. RICKIE FOWLER: Playing worldwide is something I want to do, and I want to play different parts of the world and become a bit more of a global player. But as far as the scheduling for 2015 compared to 2014, it will be very similar as far as I played the weeks before the Majors, played well when I played two weeks at a time. So you're going to see throughout my schedule in 2015, it's going to be a lot of two weeks at a time going out, being mentally prepared to go and get ready to play the big events. And so 2015 preparation will definitely mirror a lot of what I did in 2014. Q. About coming to a brand new course that you have never played before, is that sometimes a great thing, because you have no memories or bad memories or good memories of holes that you've played before; you can just come completely fresh? RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, a little bit. You kind of create your own memories the first time. It's something I've had to deal with the first couple years on Tour, which wasn't very long ago. My rookie year and into the second year, I was playing a lot of golf courses that I had never been at. So I'm used to coming to new golf courses and having to learn them quickly and go out and compete on them. So maybe if it was later in my career going to a new golf course, it might be something that I have lost touch with; but it's something I'm very familiar with and ready to learn this golf course and tee it up tomorrow. Q. Just wondering how you view the challenge of taking on Rory in 2015? You had some great battles last year. And also, Patrick and Jordan, the U.S. has got young guys, as well as yourself, who are all kind of emerging at the same time, will it that help that the three of you can have a go at the top‑of‑the‑world scenario? RICKIE FOWLER: Yes, obviously Rory is the best player in the world right now, and obviously proved that last year. Definitely looking forward to 2015, having some great match‑ups with him, along with some of the other great young players, with Patrick just winning and Jordan winning twice at the end of last year. It's going to be a lot of fun. It's not just 2015 to look forward to but the rest of our careers. We have a lot of time that we're going to be able to play against each other and this is really just the start of it. So really looking forward to it, and I feel like we're going to have some fun and heated battles at times. Q. Does it help that you have a group of you about the same age? RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, I am a little older than Rory. Jordan, got him by a few years. Patrick, I think I have by one. But yeah, we are all right within three or four years of each other. Like I said, we have got a full career ahead of us, and there's going to be a lot of good battles. Q. What is the one thing that marks Rory out from that group that you've just mentioned? RICKIE FOWLER: He's got a couple more Majors than all of us. Q. But, why? RICKIE FOWLER: If I knew why, I might have a few more Majors at this point (smiling). Obviously he is a great player. I think this is his eighth year on Tour. This will be my sixth out. But yeah, if I knew what was exactly different between him and I, that may‑‑ Q.  You do know that he putts better or he's better in certain situations; that's what I'm trying to get you to give us. RICKIE FOWLER: Yes and no. I mean, I feel like I've putted better than he did through the summer last year. He may have had some better‑ball striking and he may have drove the ball better at times. He has strengths that maybe outweigh mine: At times when he is on top of his driving game, that is when he is very tough to beat, and he drove it well through the summer. When he does that, I think it frees up a lot of the rest of his game to go and play some fairly effortless golf. So when you hit it 323, 330 down the middle of the fairway, like I said, it kind of frees things up from there. That may be one aspect of his game, that when he's on, it's something that I can't match up with, as far as distance goes. Q. And does that mean there's another, when you say "that's one," or is that the one? RICKIE FOWLER: I would say that's the one. I don't feel like my game is any weaker than his or anything like that. We've had some great battles and been in some final rounds together or going up against each other this past summer. I've come out on top a couple times and he just happened to come out on top a few more times than me. Q. You've touched already on talking about being a global player, and you're coming here this week and you're playing in Ireland. Can you see a time where you and the other leading Americans that you just mentioned would do what the leading Europeans do, take membership of both tours? Would you be able to see a time where that might happen? RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, it could happen. I know, not planning on it this year, but definitely moving forward that could be a possibility, with the amount that I could play in the future on The European Tour schedule, with the Middle East being a part of that. And last year I played the Scottish and this year I plan to go to the Irish. I believe I'm planning to go back to the Scottish before The Open. So when you think about those, the Majors get added in, the WGCs, and then there's just a few more events that you can add to be fully eligible and be a part of the Race if you play well. It's definitely something looking to for the future. Q. Do you think the fact that Rory turned professional two years earlier than you; you're of a similar age, was perhaps significant in the fact that he has taken more strides in the professional game more quickly than you have? Is that significant, perhaps? Would your development have been different if you had turned professional after 2007? RICKIE FOWLER: Yes and no. I really feel like the process that I went through, spending two years at school, was perfect for me and perfect for my development. I know in Ireland, the U.K. and in Europe, college sometimes isn't the next step; a lot of the top players will turn pro and go that direction. Rory having a two‑year head start, I don't necessarily look at it as a head start that he has success because of that and I don't because I went to school. You know, I feel like he came out and he was successful and built some confidence early. Obviously he had a couple, like the one down year, and then he's rebounded quite nicely this past year, and he's off and running. Q. Is there an X‑factor with Rory, a sort of confidence, from age two or three, that he believed he was going to achieve this and now has gone on to do it? Is it a belief thing that makes a difference that puts him out at No. 1? RICKIE FOWLER: Well, belief and confidence definitely weighs heavily in how you play and how you handle yourself when you're on the golf course and throughout the year. As far as a lot of the top young players, I don't think there's any lack or belief or confidence with guys that are winning golf tournaments and guys that are top players in the world. It's something that Rory definitely doesn't lack. He doesn't lack his belief in himself or the confidence. It's not anything that is cocky or by any means like that. He handles himself great on and off the golf course, but he definitely knows the game that he has and he believes in it, as he should, as any of the top players in the world should. And if you don't have that, then you're not going to be able to compete at an elite level. Q. What was the deciding factor in playing the Irish? Was it the golf course? Was it Rory? Was it a combination of both? And what is it about County Down that you enjoy? RICKIE FOWLER: I would say a bit of a combination. It fit in the schedule in a good position. It wasn't going to be a stretch or making me miss certain events or anything like that. But having Rory's foundation involved and Rory wanting me to come over and kind of us be able to relive some Walker Cup memories from 2007; County Down is a special place, being that we were there for the Walker Cup in 2007. It helps that we won. But it was a special place, just from the first time I got to play it. And being there for that week, I think we spent five or six days up there. I'm really looking forward to getting back. But Rory and his foundation being involved, definitely a big influence on me getting there and just so happens it's on my favourite golf course. Q. Tell me if I'm wrong, but just wonder, The Ryder Cup Task Force, have you spoken already a couple of times, conference calls or something? RICKIE FOWLER: We've met just once, yes. Q. What did you get out of that and what do you hope you get out of that in the next couple months? RICKIE FOWLER: I think the main goal is to get a feel of an outlook going forward as far as which guys we want to have involved and it could be how the points work to the captain we end up with to assistant captains. I feel like the PGA, it their main goal is to have more players involved in the process and feeling like we field the team together as one, feeling like we are all a little bit more invested in the actual team. Q. Do you feel a task force was necessary? RICKIE FOWLER: Necessary or not, it's a great way to get guys more involved and feel like we do have that impact on the team. And like I said, a little bit more invested, having‑‑ feeling that we all have an input and all being involved. Not that the Ryder Cup doesn't get you fired up enough when you're there, but to be able to be in a room and talk as far as a conference with some of the best players in golf along with some of the most influential, it's pretty special. I know we're looking forward to two years from now and see if we can put up a little bit better fight and see if we can get that Ryder Cup back on our home soil. Q. I know Phil said he didn't feel that he had engaged in the team sort of planning and the team work at Gleneagles, but was that something you felt that had not happened in the past before, or surely the American players are quite involved in the team selection process or Davis Love, for example, or Corey Pavin? RICKIE FOWLER: I wasn't under Davis but I played under Corey in 2010, and some of it seems‑‑ it gets a little different year‑to‑year. I'm not sure how some of the other teams have worked. But I think as far as moving forward, some of the points that Phil has made, as far as making it kind of building every two years and making it more consistent as far as how things work and something where you can look back on and improve on and keep building Ryder Cup to Ryder Cup instead of making it a new system or a new‑‑ kind of a new adventure each time. Q. When you were in the room that day at Gleneagles, did you think he was right, or were you a little surprised he came out and said it when he did? RICKIE FOWLER: I think we were all surprised. I feel like Phil is in a position, the one guy to really say anything. I know some of the media had looked over to Furyk to chime in and he was, I'm staying out of this. If there was one guy‑‑ and I know with Phil sitting out for a day and feeling like he didn't get to do his part, you know, he kind of had the right to do so. I don't think anything really bad has come from it. I think with the task force and getting all of us together and getting guys more involved and feeling like we have a little bit more of a say in what's going on, whether it's, you know who, is the captain to assistants to guys that are picked and the involvement and getting the players involved should have a very good impact. Q. Same kind of theme. There's been much talk of Fred Couples being a possible Ryder Cup Captain going forward. Is there a danger that you're starting to think about this too much? Someone seems to ask from a distance, seems that one of Fred's biggest assets is that he doesn't think about things at all. Do you think maybe you're analysing this way too much? RICKIE FOWLER: I would love to play for Freddie. He's been a guy that I've looked up to for a long time, just the way‑‑ like you talked about, how he handles himself and he doesn't really show too much of a care; he goes out and has a good time. But on the other hand, whether we are going into it too much or not, I mean, we've lost quite a few of the last Ryder Cups, so something's got to change. See if we can get the Ryder Cup back home. But other than that, I know as far as like the European captains and stuff, they I know‑‑ Paul McGinley through the two years leading up, he really used the two years; and whether it was getting possible guys that were playing together to play practise rounds together, spend time off the golf course going to dinner, in the final year leading up, I don't think you can really over‑prepare as far as spending time as a team and guys that you're going to be around with that week. Because if you just go into that week without any kind of preparation and just go, say, hey, you're going to play with this guy, it's kind of hit‑or‑miss. It's 50/50 versus if you spend a bit more time together. Jimmy and I got to spend some time together leading up to that week and really felt comfortable and having a good time around each other, and we really felt like we played well, especially the first three matches. We got paired up against some of the best players in the world, played against Rory and Sergio, and it was unfortunate not to get a win out of one of those matches. But I really feel like it makes a difference when you prepare a little bit and spend some time around guys that you're going to be around that week. Q. It's still intriguing I think to all of us that you do so well in The Presidents Cup but not in The Ryder Cup. What are you doing different? RICKIE FOWLER: I have no clue because I haven't played a Presidents Cup, so maybe I'll figure that out this year. But yeah, it is kind of surprising because, yeah, the past few Presidents Cups that you've looked at, the U.S. has won fairly easily. And then you look at playing The Ryder Cup, and it's kind of been a little different. So obviously a goal of mine this year is to be on The Presidents Cup team, and maybe I'll have a better answer for you on why it's worked out one way or the other in October. Q. In this traveling around the world that you've done and specifically in Europe and Britain and Ireland, do you feel sufficiently at home there, for example, to drive, or are you always driven? Are you taken from place to place by other people, or will you be happy to jump in a rented car and do it yourself? RICKIE FOWLER: I love being behind the wheel. I actually‑‑ Mercedes got me a car when I was over in the U.K. for The Scottish Open and in The Open Championship. So I drove for two weeks. It was fun. So no, I don't need anyone to drive me. Q. Any other, what you might call, local habits, that you've adapted to with great pleasure? How do you like the food in Britain? RICKIE FOWLER: As far as fish and chips, I always make that a‑‑ I've got to get that at least once during the week. I love food. I've enjoyed‑‑ probably the food that I eat most, I usually find a good local Thai or Indian spot in one of the small towns that we're in. We usually end up hitting that twice, maybe three times. But yeah, I'm not too picky when it comes to food. I've tried pretty much everything over here. Q. And football, the dreadful football, are you a football fan, one club in particular? RICKIE FOWLER: I haven't picked up a club but it's always fun, whether it's at a tournament in the U.K. or in Europe, or back home in the U.S., and guys, mainly Europeans watching the game in the locker room and seeing how heated it gets between two rivals. It's interesting but I haven't picked a club yet. Q. You like to get your adrenaline pumping outside the golf course. Are you planning to do something like sand boarding or something like that in this region? RICKIE FOWLER: I don't have any plans yet. I know possibly one of the afternoons in the upcoming days, I may be able to fit something in. Saw a lot of people out windsurfing yesterday on the way back to the hotel. Dune boarding would be fun but I've got to make sure I'm ready to tee it up the next day. It would be fun to go do some hot laps over at the FT1 track or in the go‑karts. I enjoy driving, so that could be something we do one afternoon. F1 track. We'll see, maybe Ferrari World. We'll see, I don't know. No plans yet. Q. Just a frivolous one, if you're looking for a football club, can I recommend Hibs in Edinburgh, and if you've got any money to spare, that would be welcome. RICKIE FOWLER: We'll talk after (laughter). SCOTT CROCKETT: Like you to strike that from the record, Renee. Thank you very much. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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