Rickie Fowler hits hits his approach to the 17th hole during the first round of The Memorial golf tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club Thursday, June 3, 2010, in Dublin, Ohio. (AP Photo/Terry Gilliam)Rickie Fowler made a quiet entrance to Oklahoma State’s basketball game against Harvard in the NIT.
But once cameras caught him in the crowd, and his picture appeared on the big screen in Gallagher-Iba Arena, so many golf fans flocked to him in search of an autograph that he needed a police escort to exit the building.
Fowler is a former Cowboy, a two-time Walker Cup member, the reigning PGA Tour rookie of the year, and one of the most popular players on tour not named Mickelson, Woods or Watson.
“He’s one of a kind,” said Oklahoma State golf coach Mike McGraw, who had Fowler on his team for two seasons before he turned pro. “I don’t have a comparison for him to anybody else that’s played here or has been on Tour.
“He’s creating and carving his own path.”