Rickie Fowler believes that inexperience won't count against him at Augusta National this weekend
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Rickie Fowler is raring to go ahead of his first trip to The Masters and is hoping to buck the trend of Augusta rookies failing to land the green jacket after being given a lesson in how to play the course by Phil Mickelson last week.
Fowler was the 2010 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year after having seven top-10 finishes and also fared well enough in the Ryder Cup to show that he can cope with new experiences and fresh surroundings.
"To have a chance to play in my first Masters as a professional, after my good year last year, it's something I dreamed about as a little kid," said Fowler. "Obviously I watched plenty of Masters growing up. The Green Jacket is something that means quite a bit in the golf community.
"I'm playing well right now. I feel like if I go into the week with high expectations, I feel like there's a chance that we could be walking up 18 in contention and that's something I've dreamed about, the special walk up 18; so just to be a part of this week is pretty cool."
Fowler has an advantage over most first-timers at Augusta, having partnered three-time champion Mickelson on a practice round recently - even if he was taken to school by Lefty prior to his Houston Open success.
"If I was going into it blind without any help from other players, it would be very tough," said Fowler. "Luckily, especially having local caddies, I was here a couple of days last week, and the local knowledge definitely helps. I played one round with Phil, and you know, being around guys like that that see the place a lot or have played well here definitely helps with preparation.
"Phil is obviously playing well. Maybe because he beat up on me Tuesday last week. He's definitely going to get a lot of confidence off of that, especially coming into Thursday, Friday. I think he shot 70-70 and to go into the weekend and do what he did it's only going to help.
"And then for the first-time players, you know, it's not an easy golf course to just go out and learn. It takes some time, and it's a major. So you're going to see the seasoned veterans that usually do well. You saw guys like Tom Watson and Freddie Couples play well here a couple of years ago. Hopefully we can get a couple of young guys on top this year."
Fowler actually only lost out to Mickelson by one shot in practice and feels he is in the kind of form which could see him figure at the head of the leaderboard this week after twice making the top 10 in World Golf Championships events this year.
"I've been playing well the past couple of weeks," added the 22-year-old. "I played really well at Bay Hill. I just had a couple of holes that kind of hurt me. Other than that, the game feels really good, and I feel like when you're driving the ball well and putting yourself in position to make birdies, you can make any course fit your game.
"There's a lot of guys playing well right now, whether it be the Europeans or the guys in the US, a lot of young guys are playing well right now and they are not afraid to go out and contend in a major. It's going to be pretty wide open, but hopefully it will come down to five to 10 that have a shot going into the last nine holes Sunday."
Fowler is also refusing to write off Tiger Woods returning to form and picking up a fifth green jacket, despite seeing the former world No 1 slip down the rankings this season.
"Tiger is struggling but I don't have any doubt that he's going to get his confidence back and start playing well again," said Fowler
