Bangkok: Colourful American Rickie Fowler hopes to remember his 25th birthday by celebrating a first victory of 2013 at the star-studded Thailand Golf Championship next week.
Fowler will be amongst a plethora of international stars who will converge at the stunning Amata Spring Country Club in Chonburi from December 12-15 alongside title holder Charl Schwartzel, world number three Henrik Stenson, U.S. Open champion Justin Rose, former Masters Tournament winner Bubba Watson and current Asian Tour’s number one Kiradech Aphibarnrat.
The 36th ranked Fowler is looking forward to a memorable debut in the US$1 million full-field Asian Tour tournament, conceding he has endured a “slow year” which has yielded five top-10s.
“It was a little bit of a slow year for me. Not exactly the way I wanted to play, but I felt like I learned a lot this year, and it was a good year to grow as a player, and definitely going to help me moving forward. But I would like to have had more times being in contention, and to have more chances at winning. But look forward to changing that next year. I'm excited to come see Bangkok,” said Fowler, who turns 25 on December 13.
He was convinced by his close friend Watson to sign up for the Thailand Golf Championship after the latter enjoyed a strong debut with a tied second finish behind Schwartzel 12 months ago.
“Bubba is one of my best friends on Tour. I know he's excited about coming back. He was there last year and had a great time. He was a little influential on getting me to come this year just seeing how much fun, how much he enjoyed the tournament in Bangkok. So I think all the guys from hearing some positives experiences from other guys that have played there, we are all looking forward to coming over,” said Fowler today.
Amongst his goals for 2014 include qualiying for his second Ryder Cup appearance apart from contending in the Major championships and winning a second title on the PGA Tour.
“Making the Ryder Cup Team is definitely a big goal of mine. Playing well through the FedExCup Playoffs, and then being in contention at Majors. Obviously I'd like to win as many tournaments as possible, but it's tough to put an exact number on that,” said Fowler, who holds one victory on the PGA Tour.
With his maternal grandfather being Japanese, Fowler hopes to play a bit more in Asia, in particular in Japan. He has won once as well in Korea and also featured in the CIMB Classic in Malaysia, finishing tied 19th in October.
“I think it's definitely key to play around the world and grow my fan base everywhere. Being a quarter Japanese and involved in Asian culture, I enjoy playing all through Asia, having that little bit of connection. It's fun for me,” he said.
Fowler learned to play the game from his Japanese grandfather and said the Asian culture has helped him manage himself better on the golf course.
“He was the one that actually introduced me to the game of golf. So I've spent a lot of time around him when I was a young kid, and been around kind of somewhat of the Japanese upbringing and culture that way. I think a lot of how I was influenced by my parents and grandparents is seen through how I act on the golf course or how I may handle myself,” he said.
“I try not to show much emotion; you're not going to see me throwing clubs or anything like that. That was kind of brought on me early; if anything like that were to happen, I think my mom would have taken me off the golf course! So try and be a role model and I think that's something that is taught in Asian culture.”