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Wednesday, 9 March 2011

Rory v Rickie: Who has the brighter future?

Fowler and McIlroy have world at their feet
Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy and American Rickie Fowler have become two of the most exciting young golfers on the planet since Tiger Woods emerged on the scene back in 1996.

They may not ever emulate Woods' 14-time major haul or 97 wins and counting tally, but what they do bring to the fore is a tremendous amount of energy, passion, maturity and mop of hair.

The two leading poster boys of world golf have accumulated 29 top-five finishes between them over the last two years, with the Ulsterman claiming two victories at the 2009 Dubai Desert Classic and 2010 Quail Hollow Championship. At No.8 on the world ladder, McIlroy is currently 24 rungs higher than Fowler and despite stepping down from a successful first-year stint on the PGA Tour, the 21-year-old believes he has made the best possible decision in moving forwards.

The Holywood resident has opted to play this side of the Atlantic after taking advice from close friend Lee Westwood, who has refused to chase the dollar for years - a decision which has certainly not hindered the Englishman's rise to the world number two spot. Apart from the majors and World Golf Championship events, McIlroy will play a handful of US tournaments and will add a couple more European stops to his calendar, to the delight of his global fans.

McIlroy, however, has struggled to find his form so far this year and blamed it down to a cold putter. His unimpressive statistics from last year, betray a lack of self-belief - McIlroy was 135th in the US for holing putts inside five feet and ranked 167th between five and 10 feet. Yet McIlroy's putting is peerless when the adrenaline flows, as it did during his spectacular final-round 62 at Quail Hollow and third-place finishes at the British Open and US PGA Championship.

But despite McIlroy's superb season, it was the flamboyant American who pipped him to the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Award, becoming the youngest player to do so since 20-year-old Woods 14 years ago.

There is no doubting Fowler's ability - no, he did not win a tournament last year but notched two seconds, a third, seven top-10s and 10 top-25s along the way. He also edged McIlroy by four spots in the final FedExCup Standings after finishing 32nd. And let's not forget his impressive comeback from 4 down with 4 to play to square his Ryder Cup singles match with Italian Eduardo Molinari.

Fowler turned profressional in 2009, compared to McIlroy in 2007, and went straight from an impressive collegiate and amateur career to the 'big time' - so you could say his current 32nd world ranking is on a similar par to McIlroy's, who was ranked 39th in the same time period.

Both players hold the mantle of becoming two of the sport's greats, hence their close relationship off the course. Incidentally, Fowler showed his good nature by not only attending the Ulsterman's 21st birthday last May, but was the only one out of the many professionals and caddies to bring a present - a touching gesture that McIlroy really appreciated.

Fowler in his traditional Sunday orange
It would come as a massive shock if the 22-year-old Oklahoma State player did not record a first victory on the PGA Tour this season. He seemingly has our attention every week he plays, sporting a crayola set of colours that England's Ian Poulter would be proud of - and there is no doubt we will be basking in his radiant coolness for many more years to come. Similar to the red shirt that Woods adorns on the final day of tournaments, Fowler likes to slip on his Oklahoma State colours - suggesting to us his future is bright and very much orange.

Rory and Rickie have the world at their feet. It would have been fitting had they squared up in the Ryder Cup singles at Celtic Manor, but we must patiently wait until Medinah 2012. They are both incredible talents and major champions-in-waiting. Neither player is going anywhere except up the ladder in the rankings - McIlroy has the edge at the moment because of his position in the world and winning pedigree, but you would be a brave man to bet against Fowler marching his way into the top-10 by the end of the season.

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