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DEUTSCHE BANK CHAMPIONSHIP

September 1, 2010

Rickie Fowler

NORTON, MASSACHUSETTS

DOUG MILNE: We'd like to welcome Rickie Fowler to the interview room here at the Deutsche Bank Championship. Rickie, thanks for joining us here. Obviously you're in the second of four Playoffs events for the FedExCup and you're amidst obviously a great year, two runner-up finishes so far this year alone. Just some comments on your play this year and how you're feeling going into the week.
RICKIE FOWLER: Obviously this year has been a lot of fun. I turned pro after two years of college and got my card, and to get to play out here on the PGA TOUR, I guess this is called my job, but it's a lot better than that. So like you said, two runner-up finishes, some top tens and an outside chance to make the Ryder Cup, so that's a pretty good year. Like I said, we're having a lot of fun, having fun going through the FedExCup Playoffs, and look forward to hopefully having a good week here.
I got to play nine holes this morning, and the course looks awesome. It's in great shape, and I look forward to seeing the rest of the course tomorrow.

Q. What kind of letter grade would you give yourself, Rickie, for this year?
RICKIE FOWLER: Probably A, A-. If we throw in a win, I think it's A to A+.

Q. You mentioned the Ryder Cup. When was the last time you talked to Corey Pavin and what's your relationship like with him?
RICKIE FOWLER: He actually texted me last night, said he was going to be out here this week and just kind of doing his captain roles. Both Californians, and I've played a few practice rounds with him this year and gotten to know him a little bit. But that's really all the time I've spent with him, just because he started playing out here a little bit before I got out here, and I didn't know him prior to getting my card.

Q. Staying on that subject, talking Ryder Cup, are you optimistic about your chances right now? Are you thinking about it out on the course?
RICKIE FOWLER: It's my main goal right now this week, obviously, because the picks are at the end of this week. It's on my mind, but basically it comes down to just going and playing golf. So I'm not going to be stressing it. Obviously putting in my time this week, making sure I'm prepared for the course and ready to go have a good week.
But that's not our main focus. Obviously just to play golf, have fun, and things will happen.

Q. Do you feel like you have a good idea of what you need to do? If you go out and win this week, are you on the team? Is that something that he's told you?
RICKIE FOWLER: No, there's no guarantees. They're picks for a reason. He gets to make four of his picks on what he believes and what he thinks is best for the team. If I'm in those four, it's awesome, but you know, hopefully it's not my last chance to play a Ryder Cup. You know, I feel like I've played well up until now, so you know, I think that he's looking at the long-term picture and not just based on what happens this week.
Obviously a win could help or a good finish, but you know, a missed cut here and there, it's like missing the cut two weeks ago. Obviously if you play well it's going to help, so looking forward to going out and playing well.

Q. Can you just comment on how you adapt to courses you've never seen before, especially in this case?
RICKIE FOWLER: Well, I've gotten used to it throughout the whole year because there's only been a handful of courses that I have seen. So really it's just been figuring out line off the tee, figuring out what's around the greens and what's going on on the greens and go from there. Try not to make it too complicated, like I said, just figuring out the lines and where not to miss it. There's a few places out here on a lot of courses that the guys that have been around a handful of times know that there's certain spots where you can't be, and sometimes the rookies find out the hard way. So that's what we're trying to figure out in practice rounds is where those Xs are and where the good spots are at.

Q. What was working so well at Memorial, and what's the difference between then and now in the recent weeks?
RICKIE FOWLER: Memorial, a lot of fairways and greens, and I happen to roll in a few putts on top of that. My ball-striking has been pretty good this year. My putting has been below average. I feel like putting is usually one of my better parts of my game, and yeah, that week it was a ball-striking -- it was all ball-striking for me, and I happened to get a bunch of looks, and some of those happened to fall.

Q. I could have guessed that you had a pretty good idea about what life was going to be like out here on the PGA TOUR, but what has surprised you this year?
RICKIE FOWLER: Not too many surprises. I got to play in a few events as an amateur, so I got a little peek at what life was going to be like. It's been really busy. Obviously you've got to learn how to manage your time pretty well out here, and you either learn quickly or suffer from that. So it's been a pretty smooth adjustment. We've played quite a bit this year, but it's been a lot of fun.

Q. Can you recall a specific instance or two where you took a line and you later realized it was a wrong line, maybe you saw a veteran take another line during this year?
RICKIE FOWLER: Not one off the top of my head, but I know it's happened. I know we've made -- we've obviously made some bogeys and doubles this year, and at times it's been because of not thinking clearly about where the right spot to miss was and ended up in a wrong spot. And whether that be hitting it in the water, missing it in the trap where you're not able to get up-and-down, but it definitely has happened. I can't remember one in particular, but I know it's happened more than once.

Q. And about the Rookie of the Year race, where do you see that shaping up right now?
RICKIE FOWLER: I really haven't worried about it too much this year. Obviously it's something I would like to -- I'd love to be Rookie of the Year at the end of the year, but like I said, our main focus is right now, play well this week, play well and try to make it to the TOUR Championship and the FedExCup, and to keep having fun, and we'll kind of see where that ends up with Rookie of the Year, Money List at the end of the year. We'll just keep playing.

Q. Back on the subject of Ryder Cup wild card picks, what were your thoughts about Europe's? They just announced theirs last week. And what do you think about a guy like Justin Rose, a two-time winner on TOUR this year, not getting onto that team, and what does that say about that team?
RICKIE FOWLER: Well, Monty had a tough decision on his hands. He had a lot of great players and only had the ability to pick three of those. It's unfortunate that some guys didn't make the team, but guys -- all those guys were playing well.
So you know, it wasn't my decision who got on and who wasn't on, but yeah, Justin obviously had two great wins. One he won in front of me (smiling), so he played well that week. He's had a great year, and it's unfortunate not to have him on that team. But I think he'll be okay, and he'll play on a few more Ryder Cups.

Q. Do you see your style being imitated by younger players, and how would you describe your style?
RICKIE FOWLER: My style is definitely different. There's not many guys out here that wear bright colors and match their shoes and belts to their clothes, which are not black and white. Poulter is one of the other guys, Camilo wears a little bit, but yeah, I definitely see some kids running around tournaments a lot more Puma clothing running around and a lot more orange on Sundays. I feel like I'm having a bit of an influence, which is great.
I would love to be a role model for young kids, and you know, try and be the best one that I can be. We'll try and get some more crazy colors out there and get them to have some fun.
DOUG MILNE: Rickie, we appreciate your time. Best of luck this week.
RICKIE FOWLER: Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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