FOR RICKIE Fowler, the future isn’t just bright. The future’s orange. The 21-year-old, who favours eye-catching orange outfits of a Sunday, equalled the halfway record at the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio, yesterday as he reached 13-under-par to claim the clubhouse lead at Muirfield Village.
With heavy downpours again causing delays, Fowler was out before the worst of the weather set in and added a second-round 66 to Thursday’s 65. Not since 1987, when Scott Hoch blazed a trail for the others to follow, has a player gone so low over the opening two days.
Still in his rookie year, Fowler is now chasing his breakout win as a professional. A friend of Rory McIlroy – the two hit it off when they met in the 2007 Walker Cup at Royal Co Down – Fowler now hopes to be the next bright young thing to make his mark on the PGA Tour.
Fowler witnessed McIlroy’s success at last month’s Quail Hollow Championship first-hand, as his closing 67 was somewhat overshadowed by the Irishman’s stunning 62. But he feels the cohort of youngsters emerging in the game can push each other towards greatness.
“With Rory doing that, I was kind of on the backseat around 67 at Quail Hollow on Sunday, which is a pretty good round,” he said yesterday. “But I love to see guys like Rory and Ryo (Ishikawa) and the other young guys playing well. I think we can push each other to be the best that we can be, and hopefully we can keep doing that.”
Making his debut in the event, Fowler carded an eagle and four birdies to establish a four-shot lead over Tim Petrovic, who also shot a 66, with Jason Day (69) another shot further back.
But with Justin Rose and Phil Mickelson, both among the later starters, making inroads early in their rounds, Fowler is unlikely to have things all his own way over the weekend. For the time being, it’s all about enjoying the moment.
“Just being in contention the few times I have over the last eight months or so since I turned pro, this is by far the best that I’ve felt,” he added. “My game feels good, the putter’s working a bit. So we’re having some fun.”
Defending champion Tiger Woods safely made the cut after a round of 69 moved the world number one to three under for the tournament.
Displaying flashes of brilliance and periods of pedestrian play, he compiled his three-under total in ideal morning conditions
“It was decent today,” said Woods. “I hit more good shots than I did yesterday and really putted well,” said an upbeat Woods. “I had five lip-outs today, so it could have been a pretty good number.”
Woods made his birdies in bunches – three in four holes early on, and then three more in a row starting at his 14th hole. But he bogeyed the third, ninth and 18th.
McIlroy was on course to challenge over the weekend. It wasn’t all plain sailing, with bogeys at the 10th (his first) and 12th, but birdies at the 11th, 14th, 15th, first and fifth moved him to three under with four to play.
