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WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP

August 17, 2016

Rickie Fowler

Greensboro, North Carolina

JOHN BUSH: We'd like to welcome Rickie Fowler here in the Interview Room, making his first career start at the Wyndham Championship.

Rickie, welcome to Sedgefield. If we can get some thoughts on being in Greensboro.

RICKIE FOWLER: Definitely excited about this week. I've always heard great things about this golf course here at Sedgefield and guys love playing it, they love the way the course is in good shape.

Most of the time that's all I've heard, it's fun to play, always in good shape and I feel like it's always been a tough one for me schedule-wise and the main reason being here is for Ryder Cup points and excited about the commitment that I made to be here.

First time seeing the golf course today and greens are perfect, golf course is in great shape so I'm looking forward to the week here.

JOHN BUSH: You're heading into the stretch here with The Playoffs coming up, number 30 on the FedExCup points. Right here on the bubble for the Tour Championship later in the year. Talking about refocusing focusing now after the Olympics for the stretch.

RICKIE FOWLER: We have a big stretch right now with four in a row and after this week a lot of Cup points, lot of the movement that will happen in the first few weeks there.

The game has been very close to being very good. Got a glimpse of it the 3rd round in Rio. So, just a fine line and looking forward to kind of flipping and being back to where I want it to be.

JOHN BUSH: If you'll raise your hand.

Q. Rickie, what did you think of the course, what did you think of the course today and a birdie fest out there, do you think this week?
RICKIE FOWLER: I really liked the course. Fairly straightforward off the tee. Few blind shots but once you kind of have your numbers and lines dialed in I feel like it's fairly simple and then the greens are definitely protected and then if you don't drive it in the fairway you won't be able to control the ball in the rough.

The greens have a decent amount of movement, some with more slope and they're in perfect shape, running good. Very old school. They've got some speed and hopefully we can (get) some of the rain through the week.

Not too firm but at least out of the rough it's tough to hold the ball on the green. The course is in -- it's going to definitely benefit ball-striking this week.

Q. Playing fast right now?
RICKIE FOWLER: It is. There's a little bounce in the fairways. The greens, like I said, they're not too firm but do have a nice bounce. If you're playing out of the rough it's tough to hold the ball on the the green. That's what I was talking about ball-striking, drive the ball well and able to control your ball on the greens.

It will make it a little less stressful on the putter. You won't have to make as many putts but obviously if the putter gets going that's a bonus.

Q. Rickie, who told you about this course in general like of the experience here and how do you think it fits your game?
RICKIE FOWLER: I had heard it from multiple guys, guys that have played here over the years. Justin Thomas, good buddy of mine, he had talked about it a lot. Him and I flew up together yesterday. He had one of the first starts here. This is his fifth time. He's always spoke highly of it as far as being a fun golf course, lot of variety off the tee and then we talked about once they switched over to bermuda on the greens, it definitely made it, you know, played a lot differently as far as being able to firm the greens up a bit more and make them quicker.

So, I was definitely impressed with the golf course today. Love the look of it and so I'm looking forward to playing it in competition.

Q. Rickie, where were you, I don't know if you were in the field the week Furyk shot the 58? Were you there that week?
RICKIE FOWLER: I was down at Open ceremonies.

Q. What's been the buzz on Tour? What's been the talk? When you come to a course like a par 70 here we are this week, do you even think about scores like that?
RICKIE FOWLER: No. I mean with this being our first time around the golf course today, I don't know a lot about the golf course. Really just focusing on where I need to hit it off the tee and then as long as I'm playing out of the fairway, I can control the ball and where I need it to be and where I want it to be on the greens.

Obviously with what he did, yeah, everyone was following it even if we weren't around a TV, keeping up-to-date, whether social media or through the PGA Tour app and watching the ShotLink and seeing where he was and what was going on.

It was pretty special to follow. Not just to do it once but to do it twice in the past three years, pretty impressive. You know, I don't necessarily see that here this week. If I happen to do it, that would be awesome (laughter). I don't think it's going to.

Q. Does that bring 57 into play now? Is that the way you guys look at it?
RICKIE FOWLER: He had 57 out there, that's for sure. No. I mean those rounds don't happen very often. You don't get hot. It's very rare that you're -- I think there's once where I've been 10-under through 12 and that was in Q-School prior -- right after I turned pro and I ended up shooting 66.

Made some bad numbers coming in. Those rounds don't come around very often and you really can't think about what the total score is going to be. You almost have to just keep riding it until she bucks you off.

Q. Can you talk about the impact you've had on kids when you look out in the crowd, all these kids wear orange, cool hat.
We interviewed kids who don't like golf, but think you're really cool because of your clothes and can you talk about fact impact you've made in that area?

RICKIE FOWLER: It's awesome to hear that. I never dreamed, being a professional golfer that, you know, I was a big role model or anything like that.

I wanted to be a professional golfer. I wanted to go and play the best that I could and go try and win golf tournaments.

Everything else kind of followed with it. It's been a really cool position to be in, being that growing up I looked up to professional athletes, not just in golf but through Action Sports, Action Sport background to now be in a position where I am someone that kids look up to and have a possible influence on a younger generation, it's special.

It's fun to see tournament to tournament, country to country, the fans continue to grow. So, to potentially have that impact to bring new faces to the game, it's awesome. But I got to take care of my job and play better golf and we'll get some more to follow.

Q. Rickie, my question is similar to what Danny just asked you. It's more along the lines of the buzz that was created when you announced you were coming to this tournament, you know, it's been a great field over the past few years but for some reason when you were announced you were coming it just created this buzz and do you see that star quality, that star power that you kind of created for yourself on the PGA TOUR when you go to events all throughout the country including here at the Wyndham?
RICKIE FOWLER: I understand it a little bit. I don't look at myself that way. I feel like my team, my family and friends everyone closest to me has definitely made sure that was not something that they would let me do or something that would happen and the decision to come play here at Wyndham was made quite awhile before the Olympics and it was just more of the timing that we wanted to do it while we were down there and coming up closer though week.

But with where I was on Ryder Cup points and knowing that the points, with Bethpage coming up, this was a good addition to the schedule. It wasn't something we planned on earlier in the year but the Ryder Cup is something that means a lot to me.

It's something where I've been a part of two teams and I don't want to miss out on another one.

Q. Rickie, that what was going to be my question. What sort of message does it send out to Davis, when you decided to play this Wyndham Championship that you want to be on that team?
RICKIE FOWLER: Whether it sends him the message or not, I want to do my best that I can to make that team on points. I know I'm a little ways out. Some good golf can take care of that.

Like I said, it's a fine line from playing some very good golf right now. Yeah, I obviously want to show that I am committed to the Ryder Cup and I want to be a part of that team but I got take care of my business and make more birdies and less bogeys.

Q. You talked about the fine line. What are those things that you want to see on the other side of the fine line with your game?
RICKIE FOWLER: If I just start making some more putts. Really that was a the big thing on Saturday in Rio. I hit a couple shots a little closer. I made putts to build momentum and continue the momentum and actually get into a rhythm for the round.

It's been a struggle ever since Abu Dhabi, not making lot of putts. Hitting good putts, whether the speed is off or a little bit of a misread.

When putts don't go in you don't have that complete confidence in the putter. It kind of can start bleeding into the rest of the game. I feel like I've been swinging very well, ball-striking tee to green has been great. Scrambling hasn't been bad. Hasn't been great by any means but everything is there.

Just get some balls to go in the hole and drop and start building that momentum and get into a good rhythm. Like I said last Saturday, showed how close it is.

Q. Are you changing anything else putting-wise?
RICKIE FOWLER: I've been cross-handed since Congressional and I was actually putting a little bit more conventional when I was home before Rio.

Went the first day and still didn't make anything and still feeling more comfortable cross-handed but I've gone conventional, cross-handed back and forth ever since I was a Junior Golfer so that's nothing new.

Just been something I've done every year, two. It's almost like the cross-handed is a little, I guess, an aid in a way. It actually puts me in a better position at set-up. Sometimes I get a little off conventional and just a way of getting it back to where I want it to be.

Q. Rickie, I'm curious, you were really visible in Rio, going to different events, as was Justin Rose. Justin Rose wins the Gold Medal, the narrative is how he really embraced the Olympic finish. You didn't quite finish where you wanted to.
Rickie stretched himself a little too thin? What do you think is the characterization?

RICKIE FOWLER: It's unfortunate if you're at the Olympics and go see other events and spend time with athletes and enjoy the Olympic experience and actually embrace it and, you know, show everyone what it really means and how much it means to be there.

Yeah, it's just -- that's the way it is now. You got haters. It's unfortunate. We deal with them everyday. If we didn't have them then we wouldn't have the opportunity to really do what we get to do.

I mean like I said, yeah, unfortunate for them. I'm sorry they have to result to putting hate out on social media. That might be the best part of their day. I'm enjoying it a lot more (laughter).

Q. Rickie, you played an AJGA event here in Greensboro as a 17 year old. Do you have any memories of that and how important was the AJGA experience to your development as a player?
RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah. AJGA has been great and continues to be great. I never played this golf course but obviously I played numerous amounts of AJGA events growing up. They're definitely an association that helped me get to the next level and play collegiant where I wanted to be, being able to play against the best juniors in the country and to still be associated with the AJGA and helping them out and I help them with a thing called Leadership Links and we did a day at the end of the year to help kind of reward some of their top fundraisers.

They were great to me growing up and they've continued to be great and it's fun to be able to help them out.

Q. Rickie, getting back to Rio, what's your best memory now that you had a little time to think about it, a top moment for you?
RICKIE FOWLER: I mean there's -- not too many. There's a lot. I mean the whole trip is very special. To me my favorite moment was when I was back at the pool, the warm up pool with the swim team and Bubba came back with me.

I had met the PR guy for the U.S. swim earlier in the week, Scott, and he was great and wanted us to come back and meet some of the team and they wanted to get pictures and it was cool to take pictures with other athletes I wanted pictures with. They wanted pictures with me and the coaches who were back there for ten minutes or so.

We go to walk out and this is the warm up pool where all the countries have their kind of therapy tables and everything set-up. Hundreds of people back there.

We start to walk out and you start to hear the cowbell ring and they start chanting, "USA, USA."

Didn't really think anything of it at first. Look back, they're all starting to chant, "USA".

I started pumping my fist and chanting, "USA" back. In the meantime, obviously, you can hear a cowbell from pretty far. The whole pool, hundreds of people are looking straight over at us "laughter". A really cool moment. I probably could have swam -- went out and swam the 100 meters (laughter).

Q. You got to tee it with Mia Hamm today in the Pro-Am. How is it playing with her and how is her golf game?
RICKIE FOWLER: She surprised me. She was really good. She hit some quality good shots. She drove it really well, made some good putts out there. We had a really good time. You could see that she's a competitor, she's fierce.

The first couple holes she hit a couple shots she didn't like and got it rolling from there. You could see that -- you could see that Olympic athlete down there. She's a legend. I definitely enjoyed being around her and walking 18 holes with her.

JOHN BUSH: Rickie, thanks for your time. Best of luck this week. Thank you, Rickie.

RICKIE FOWLER: Jimmy Walker, also known as the PGA Champion.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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