Fowler's approach speaks volumes on and off the course

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Stan Badz/PGA TOUR

Rickie Fowler had plenty to smile about after an opening-round 65 Thursday at Torrey Pines.

Nice guys can finish first. At least that's what Rickie Fowler is hoping.

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In just his second year on the PGA TOUR, Fowler is not only one of the faces of the future and quickly becoming one of the game's best players, he's a poster boy for cleanliness and knot-tying.

Nothing against Motocross or its riders -- I'm sure they're good people and it obviously wouldn't be fair to stereotype them, but Fowler is about as edgy as butter.

While racing is in Fowler's blood -- his father Rod won the 1986 Baja 1000 while racing for Yamaha -- he doesn't spend much time on a bike these days.

Instead, Fowler signs a lot of autographs.

He smiles.

He answers to the growing demands of sponsors and media with a certain politeness.

He sometimes hangs out with his parents on the road.

He recently moved from Las Vegas to Jupiter, Fla., and he once even asked Olin Browne permission to date his daughter (and Browne gave it.)

Not exactly the stuff of some of today's young, rich and famous. Or even some of Fowler's fellow competitors.

"It's how my parents brought me up," said Fowler, who trails by a stroke at the Farmers Insurance Open after a 7-under 65 Thursday at Torrey Pines' North Course in his season debut. "They made sure I wasn't doing anything stupid.

"A lot of times if you look at kids they're a direct reflection of their parents."

Fowler is that -- his parents, for example, don't drink much and it's something Fowler doesn't have much of an interest in either.

"I think they've done a pretty good job," added Fowler. In return, Fowler has done a pretty good job of handling his meteoric rise to stardom.

Take last year's Rookie of the Year balloting, which Fowler edged Rory McIlroy in.

It generated some controversy because McIlroy won and Fowler didn't and McIlroy gave up his TOUR membership while Fowler was a card-carrying member. Naturally, though, Fowler voted for McIlroy (and McIlroy voted for Fowler).

"I'm not going to go out and vote for myself," Fowler said. "I wouldn't ever be able to vote for myself. It's not who I am."

That showed a maturity wise beyond Fowler's 22 years and his game has followed that path. His swing and creativity netted him seven top-10s, including two runner-up finishes, and a spot on the Ryder Cup team as a Captain's pick in 2010.

Not that Fowler isn't without some flash and flair.

He wears all orange on Sunday as a tribute to his alma mater, Oklahoma State, and he painted the garage in his new house the same color.

He bought a couple of jet skis to go with the new digs, too, and he likes cars -- preferably fast ones.

He also recently starred in a flashy new Puma commercial featuring a dirt bike and a golf course. Even if it was only a stuntman on the bike, Fowler loved the idea of bringing his own style to the ad.

"Definitely a cool little commercial," Fowler said. "It's obviously different to golf."

In some ways, so is Fowler. He doesn't even consider himself a superstar, which in the pantheon of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson he isn't -- yet. But not even Mickelson made the Ryder Cup team in his first go round.

"I don't really look at myself like [a superstar]," Fowler said. "I get noticed in public a little bit more now which is kind of cool. I like people coming up and asking for autographs and wanting pictures and stuff like that. But I don't look at myself any differently. I'm not trying to act any differently."

But Fowler is reluctant about his burgeoning fame.

"It's cool to be looked at like that as a professional athlete or small celebrity," Fowler said. "It's cool to get noticed. Obviously, I want to be a good role model for my fans and young kids."

He also wants to get that first win, something he has a shot at this week in San Diego.

"Once that happens," Fowler said. "It can open the door to some bigger and better things."