Orange Crush

Professional golf is fun to watch again not because a certain tiger is out of his own cage. Au contraire! A week ago Sunday it was the lovable Phil show from Augusta. Yesterday it was the gunslinging rookie, Rickie Fowler, doing "his thing" while looking like an orange popsicle. He didn't win the tournament, Jim Furyk did, but Rickie did win over the fans at Harbourtown Golf Links on Hilton Head Island.

And "his thing" is something special to see. As I wrote earlier in the year after watching him play in a local tournament, "Rickie is a rookie and he is for real...he can flat out play!" "His thing" is fearlessly hitting that little white dimpled ball a country mile and firing laser-like second shots at pins with great speed, skill and daring. His approach to the game is half Evel Knievel and half surfer dude. Sometimes he lands safely. Other times he wipes out. No middle ground. Rickie's modus operandi is simple: hit it hard, go find it and hit it again. His approach is full of risk and reward. No matter...he moves on. For me, a fan, watching him is like watching Bear Grylls and wondering what fool thing will he do next? Bring on the Tums!

At the close of business on Sunday, Rickie posted a ridiculous 4 under 67, the low round of the day, to secure a tie for 8th place overall in the tournament. A great score on a tough Pete Dye gem of a course. It could have been better...then again, it could have been worse. That's what it's like to hang with Rickie. On the front side, Rickie had a 30, 6 under, with an eagle, 5 birdies and a bogey. On the back side, he started with 3 straight bogeys and settles for a 37, 2 over. Talk about roller-coaster. After Rickie went eagle, birdie, birdie, birdie, on the front side, the crowds fled the leaders to see this young phenom play. Don't blame them, the Great Wallenda always drew a crowd...just like Rickie.

So, where are we with his young guy now? Here are some facts after 11 PGA events in 2010: 21 years old, has made 7/11 cuts, earned $1.075M, #21 on moneylist, ranked #67 in the world, #21 in Fedex points and dating Senior PGA Pro, Olin Browne's babe daughter, Alexandra.

Can life be any sweeter for Rickie? Yes, he wants to play in the US Open at Pebble Beach in June. How? There are 18 ways one gets into The Open. The four that are available to Rickie at this stage are: win the Players Championship at Sawgrass in 3 weeks, break into the top 10 2010 moneylist through the Byron Nelson May 24 (which suggests a tour victory within the next month), ascend into the top 50 world golf rankings and lastly, qualify like everybody else who is able on June 7.

My money is on Rickie being on the Monterey Peninsula in June not as a tourist but as a player in our Open. He'll not only bring his crazy game to Pebble but also those jelly belly colors where both will surely electrify the fans. I can't wait!!! I can hear Johnny Miller scream on the air, "this kid has a freaky game."