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FRYS.COM OPEN

October 23, 2009

Rickie Fowler

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA

JOHN BUSH: We'd like to welcome Ricky Fowler into the interview room here at the Frys.com Open. 6-under par, 64. Current co-leader with Greg Owen at 11-under par. Another day of great playing. Got things kicked off with the eagle on No. 6. Comment on that, and also your day as a whole.
RICKY FOWLER: 6, was -- I mean, it wasn't playing very short, but it was definitely drivable. Swung out about as hard as I could and hit it about as hard as I could and went about as straight as a ball could go. Ended up about 12 feet behind the hole and rolled in a good putt to kind of get things jump started.
JOHN BUSH: Okay. Talk about the day as whole, if you can.
RICKY FOWLER: Um, it was nice. I only missed two greens today; yesterday I didn't miss any. So it was fairly the same. No bogeys. Kind of kept things going and just kept things out in front of me. Hit the irons fairly well and gave myself some looks.
Made a few close putts for birdie, and like I said, just kind of kept things out in front of me and played pretty stress-free.
JOHN BUSH: Questions.

Q. What were your expectations for yourself in these first few tournaments since you turned pro?
RICKY FOWLER: My expectations were basically just to go out and have two fun weeks and play as well as I could. You know, there's always that goal of winning. There's no reason to tee it up in a tournament if I don't think I can win.
Last week I put together some solid rounds and put myself in contention.
This week, feel like I'm in a great spot going into the weekend.

Q. I guess if you win this week, you will be eligible to be PGA Rookie of the Year. Is that something that crossed your mind after the Walker Cup when you turned pro a month ago?
RICKY FOWLER: No, I was looking forward to -- I had two Nationwide starts earlier in Boise and Soboba, and had sponsor's exemptions into Vegas and then here. You know, played well enough in Vegas to give the spot back. I think having the spot here freed me up to play well last week.
But I didn't think about any of that stuff. I was just going out for four tournaments to play as well as I could and go to Q-School. Right now that's still the plan. First stage is starting next Tuesday.

Q. What does it mean to you to be in this position this soon just overall in your career?
RICKY FOWLER: Um, well, you know, I've played a few Tour events. Played the two Opens and played some Nationwide events. I put together some good rounds prior to this. I haven't been able to put four -- besides last week, never really put four good rounds together, but -- other than back in July I lost in a playoff in a Nationwide event.
So I knew I could be in this position if I just played my game. You know, these last two weeks have been playing fairly solid. The game feels good, so I'm looking forward to this weekend being in the position that I am.

Q. These two golf courses you played the last two weeks are pretty similar. Does that help this week, the fact that you played in Vegas last week? Is this the kind of golf course you really like to play on? I mean, a desert golf course. And I guess do you think to maybe enhances your chances?
RICKY FOWLER: I'm open to really any course. The last two courses definitely have -- you know, they've fit my eye pretty well.

Q. Which one fits it better?
RICKY FOWLER: I would say this one. It's a little more narrow. I think you have to -- you know, the greens were pretty big over there at TPC. I'm hitting the ball better this week and I feel better about my game this week.
So I think this course fits me a little bit better just because it's a little narrower and you have to be a little more precise with the shots into the green.
So either way, I feel like both courses fit myself pretty well. Any course is gonna be good if you're playing well. I feel like that's where I'm at right now.

Q. (Question regarding a nickname he got after Walker Cup.)
RICKY FOWLER: I haven't heard that one yet.

Q. Do you have nickname?
RICKY FOWLER: There's a couple. One of the main ones is Steek. Not very many people know about it. It was started two years ago after I played well at a tournament down in South Carolina called the Players Amateur. Chris Kirk, he was the one that gave it to me. He said I stuck everyone, and that kind of turned to Steek.
It really -- there were only a very few guys that called me that, and it was the mainly the guys on the '07 Walker Cup team. So every once in a while here someone calls me that, and I know it's someone that knows something about me if they call me Steek.

Q. How are you spelling that?
RICKY FOWLER: S-t-e-e-k. More people know now. It's stamped on my wedges, so it's out there a bit more now.

Q. You seem like you're pretty loose all the time and nothing really bothers you. Are we reading that right? Is there something going on inside that maybe you get a little fired up when you make a bogey?
RICKY FOWLER: There's definitely some fire in there. Like I said, I've been playing fairly stress-free golf. That's the way I try and play. There are a lot of holes out there, and four rounds of golf you're gonna make some mistakes and make some bogeys.
I feel like if I play any game I have a lot of birdie opportunities. So I made a bogey early yesterday. It was a three-putt, so that kind of got me a little upset.
But went on from there and drove the green and made eagle, so, you know, things can turnaround pretty quickly.

Q. What is it about your past that let's you be so relaxed out here on the PGA Tour? You look almost like a veteran out there the way you're carrying yourself. Is it all the things you've done in the past, or is it just the fact that you're a low-key guy to start with?
RICKY FOWLER: A little bit of both. I have played in quite a few professional events as an amateur. And then playing in the two U.S. Opens and then playing two Walker cups, I mean, the '07 Walker Cup is the most nervous I've ever been on a golf course. I mean, people were asking me how is that so against two U.S. Opens, but that's just how was it.
So I feel like I've been through plenty of experiences to make me feel comfortable out here. You know, what you're seeing is pretty much how I feel. I just feel like I'm going around and having fun. Right now the game feels good, so makes it even more fun.

Q. If you don't win but are in the top 10, what do you do next week?
RICKY FOWLER: I don't know. I guess that's -- we'll have to find out how everything plays out Sunday and go from there.

Q. (No microphone.)
RICKY FOWLER: Depends if it exempts me through first stage, then, yes, I'll play the Viking. But if I'm not exempt through first stage, I'm going to first stage.

Q. This is your second pro event. Do you think the veterans are more worried about you being the young gun coming up?
RICKY FOWLER: You know, I'm sure they're looking at me -- I mean, they saw I played well last week and playing well again this week, so I'm sure they're looking at my name up there. But, you know, they've been out here for a while and seen all the names up there on the board.
They're out there doing their own thing and I'm out doing my own thing. I don't think anyone's thinking about other people too much. They're just gonna be worrying about their own game.

Q. You mentioned the other day that you don't have a swing coach. Just wondering how many business cards you get out there from people who would like to be your swing coach. How often are you approached about that kind of stuff?
RICKY FOWLER: Not very much. Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't say there's coaches trying to come to me and, you know, offer their help or anything really. I've been told by many players out here and people I look up to stick to what I'm doing and not let anyone mess with what I do.
You know, I worked with a guy named Barry McDonald back home since I was seven mainly through high school. Once I went to college I was away. I think he flew out once to help me before the World Amateur last year.
Other than that, I'm basically on my own and doing my thing. I haven't seen him for quite a while. He's really the only swing coach that I've had. We've never used video camera, and basically when I'm the road I don't have a coach.
Now that I'm living in Vegas, like I said earlier, I just go out and work on fundamentals and work on hitting solid golf shots, and from there working on ball flight.
JOHN BUSH: You took care of the eagle on No. 6. Let's go through the birdies, starting on the par-4, 7.
RICKY FOWLER: 7, hit a rough drive to the right, but hit a good 6-iron in there just above the hole and made about a 10-footer.
Par-5, 11, hit a good drive. Kicked into the right rough, but I had a good lie and hit a cut 3-wood around a tree. Just had to cut it about five yards, so it wasn't bad. It was going right at the pin, and came up just short in the front bunker. Fairly easy up-and-down. Hit it to about five or six feet and made the putt for birdie.
15, another kind of sketchy drive. Didn't really -- I was trying -- that's the other drivable par-4 out there. Kind of bailed out right and didn't hit it very solid. And then just had about a 40-yard flip shot over a tree and hit it about five feet behind the hole and made that for birdie.
JOHN BUSH: The last hole.
RICKY FOWLER: Last hole, hit a perfect drive down the middle of the fairway. I think we had 171 to the hole. Took 8-iron thinking it was the perfect club. Actually went a little farther. Flew about 174 or 176, one of the two. Ended up a little behind the hole. It was a field putt downhill, sliding to the left. Just kind of had to pick a spot and make sure the speed was right. Had a perfect putt right in the middle.
JOHN BUSH: Ricky, great playing so far. Keep it going this weekend.
RICKY FOWLER: Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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