WE all get our heart-pounding kicks out of something, whether it’s flinging yourself off the edge of a cliff with a flimsy parachute or overcoming the previously unbeaten duo of Bessie and Irene at the local Bridge club.
Rickie Fowler is not quite Evel Knievel when it comes to extreme endeavours of daring but he’s certainly a braver man than this correspondent ever will be.
Being thrown about in the stomach-churning, eye-popping cockpit of a stunt plane flown at terrifying speeds, for instance, is not something your average golfer does on his day off.
“This is my eighth year out on tour and I’m probably not as crazy as I was when I was 15 or 17, but I still and always will be an adrenaline junkie and I like to get that fix,” said the Californian when asked about his penchant for high-octane activities.
“I still love the action sports world and going and riding racing dirt bikes. I’m pushing the limits on that but I’m doing it in a little bit of a safer environment where a small mistake is not going not going to cost me a big injury.”
Here at Dundonald for the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, Fowler is hoping that the links effect helps to stir the senses. It certainly has before, of course.
Two years ago at Gullane, Fowler claimed the Scottish bounty in fine style with a cracking birdie on the closing hole to plunder the prize in East Lothian.
Scheduling issues – the addition of the Olympics to the golfing programme in 2016 caused a bit of a log-jam – led to Fowler sacrificing the Scottish Open last year, but he's back and raring to go “I was a little bummed about missing it last year,” he said.
People expected Fowler to be slightly “bummed” after another chance of brushing the major monkey off his back evaporated in the final round of the US Open at Erin Hills last month.
Having led after day one, he was just two back going into the closing round but never got going and slithered out of the picture.
Some of the more fraught, teeth gnashing commentators and observers suggested Fowler should have been more brassed off than he was after another major passed him by but hissy-fits and visible descents into the doldrums are not really Fowler’s way.
“Well, I've always been someone who doesn't exactly show their emotions, whether it's on the golf course or off the golf course,” said the four-time PGA Tour winner who has had seven top-10 finishes in the major championships down the seasons. “I've always been someone that's looked at the glass half full. I've always been as positive as possible.
"Don’t get me wrong. Inside I was p****d off but I'm not going to show that. That's just something about who I am.
"On the golf course, I want to control my emotions. I'll be mad inside but I'm going to try to channel that into the right direction. I'm not going to let it affect the next shot.
"There's obviously been times in everyone's career playing that you get upset and it leads to making another mistake. That's something I've always tried to deal with.
"My parents and the people around me growing up definitely didn't want to see me showing any kind of anger on the golf course.
"If I was caught throwing clubs or breaking anything then that club would be taken away. So I always wanted to make sure I had 14 clubs.”
The links arena is one in which Fowler thrives. That was in evidence back in 2011 during the Open at St George’s where he harnessed the boisterous conditions to good effect and managed to winkle out a share of fifth place.
The forecast for today and Friday looks reasonable although things could get slightly more vigorous over the weekend.
Whatever drifts in across Ayrshire over the next few days, Fowler will relish the challenge.
Three top-five finishes in his last four events have him in fine fettle while his past Scottish Open experiences give him that extra spring in his step. “
The Scottish Open has been great for me going into the Open,” he added. “When I played my first Scottish at Aberdeen in 2014, I went on to have my best finish in an Open (a share of second at Hoylake).
"I just enjoy playing the week before a major, get myself ready and check off some boxes.
"I find this course really fun to play. There is a lot of variety on the tee-shots and that's what I like about links golf. I like to be able to use my imagination out there.
“I think there is a lot of good that can happen over these next two weeks.”
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