Rickie Fowler Goes Untucked And Twitter Unravels
By all accounts, Rickie Fowler is a good guy. In fact he was voted #1 of the 10 most mannered celebs. He also pushes the fashion envelope maybe more than any other golfer (remember his cinched-up joggers and high tops?).
Well, he did it again. Yesterday, Fowler decided to wear an untucked Hawaiian golf shirt during the Sentry Tournament of Champions. The Twitterverse went berserk no doubt divided by youth and “get off my lawn” olds. The olds thought he looked like a parking valet while the youngsters embraced a look that’s been very popular off the course in the last 5-10 years.
And, it was in Hawaii…although he refrained from wearing a lei.
GolfChannel’s Rex Hoggard provides the intel.
It’s all part of Fowler’s fabric. He’s a player who grew up racing motocross, a player who introduced a generation of young fans to the flat-bill hat. But has there ever been an item his clothing sponsor asked him to wear that was just too much, a style that caused a moment of pause?
“Not necessarily. Maybe some that I may not have liked the color combos or anything within reasonable boundaries that I wasn’t afraid of going out and doing something different,” he said. “I’ve always been different. I don’t want to go straight down the middle of the fairway. I like to skirt into the rough a little bit but at the same time obviously still be respectable.”
There are limits to Fowler’s brash approach, however. Would he go for the relaxed, untucked look at other tournaments, like the Masters?
“I thought it was fun and definitely fitting for Maui,” he smiled. “It’s not like you can really bring out this shirt in many other places but on the island.”
Some of the crazier reactions can be read in Sean Martin’s tweet timeline below.
Rickie is wearing an untucked Hawaiian shirt at Kapalua … and I kinda dig it: pic.twitter.com/h4rs0fDD9O
— Ryan Lavner (@RyanLavnerGC) January 4, 2018
I personally didn’t mind it. And Fowler did shoot 4-under.
Remember when Tiger threw the golf world into a state of panic when he unveiled the mock turtleneck? Golf is accused of being old-fart behind the times. Allowing its marquee players to challenge golf’s staid fashion comfort zone is one easy way to stem the tide.