ABU DHABI // With his trendsetting, anti-golf establishment, high-top shoes, his flat-peak baseball caps, and laid-back to the point of horizontal manner, Rickie Fowler would be the undisputed leader of most cool gangs.
Weird, then, that the world’s hippest golfer has spent much of the recent past craving acceptance into an exclusive group of another kind.
To be fair to him, the entry criteria is demanding. Members have to have a stack of world ranking points, more trophies than a silversmiths, and preferably a major or two. And if your name’s not Jordan, Jason, or Rory, you’re not coming in.
Until now. Winning the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship on his second visit to the UAE meant the Californian went to a career-high No 4 in the world rankings.
Given that Jordan Spieth, the world No 1, and Rory McIlroy, No 3 — with Jason Day sandwiched between them — were among the vanquished field, maybe they will let him join their gang.
KEY NUMBERS: Rickie Fowler's Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship in numbers
“It is what it is — they are the three best players in the world,” Fowler said, after winning the Falcon Trophy by a stroke from Thomas Pieters, by posting 16 under-par. “The three of them have played amazing. I want to be part of the crew. It would be a pretty good foursome.
“I mentioned last summer that I thought I was a sneaky fourth. Now I need to take care of a major then maybe I can join that crew.”
Fowler’s descriptions of how it felt to win his second European Tour title, on his 50th start, ranged from “pretty cool,” to “pretty awesome,” with a little bit of “fun” in between.
Cool was apt. Being more chilled than a cucumber sat in a fridge in the Arctic must help when the pressure of a bunched, final-day leaderboard reaches its maximum.
He was tested twice on the final day. At the par-3 seventh, his ball somehow stayed dry after an errant tee-shot, but he still posted a double-bogey five.
They were his first dropped shots on the front nine of the week, and meant his three-stroke lead was cut to one.
His response, at the eighth — a hole where he made a triple-bogey eight on debut last year — was magnificent. After taking a driver off the grass for his second shot and finding a greenside bunker at the par-5, he holed his bunker shot for an eagle.
LIVE BLOG: Rickie Fowler wins Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship — as it happened
It was not the only time in the round his putter could stay in his bag. At the 17th, he holed a short chip from the fringe for birdie, to give him a two-shot cushion going down the last. Despite his playing partner Pieters’ best efforts, it was just enough.
“It is fun to be in contention in those moments where you have to pull off a shot,” Fowler, 27, said. “When you do it, you get such an adrenaline rush and such a boost from it. I felt really comfortable in those situations. Having to do it makes it so much more rewarding.”
Fowler started the week as a spare wheel in the flagship three-ball that also included McIlroy and Spieth. He ended it out on his own at the top, and McIlroy said he was chuffed for his good friend.
“It’s a great start to the year for him,” McIlroy, who finished tied for third, said. “Everyone was talking about the Big 3 and Rickie sort of needing something.
“But the four of us are top four in the world. It’s a nice narrative going into the meat of the golf season.”
Pieters finished fourth in this competition 12 month ago, and was not too upset to be bettered solely by Fowler this week.
“I’m a little bit disappointed,” Pieters said. “It doesn’t get much better, with perfect weather, and good company.”
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