2 Votes
Fowler says appearing on EA Sports game cover is dream come true
Rickie Fowler has emerged as one of golf's brightest young stars, claiming 2010 Rookie of the Year accolades and his first professional victory at the 2011 Kolon Korea Open. Now you can add cover model to that list of accomplishments. After three weeks of Twitter campaigns and fan voting, Rickie Fowler upended fellow "Golf Boy" Bubba Watson by a final margin of 52 percent to 48 percent to win the Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13 Match Play cover vote, earning him a spot next to Woods on the franchise's next big release. For Fowler, though, it is not so easy to picture himself as the face of a video game. "I think I will have to see the cover of the game for myself once it is completed before this really sinks in," Fowler said. "It's definitely been a dream of mine to be on the cover of a video game; it's something I could really only imagine in my mind before."When EA Sports launched Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 99, Rickie Fowler was 9 years old-just one of millions of fans loading up their PlayStations and setting out as their favorite golfers on the world's best courses. "The cool thing for me is that since I have played the game for a few years now, I've been able to see all the progressions that the game has gone through," Fowler said. Fowler will not be the only 22-year-old golf superstar on the cover of Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13 when the game is released. Rory McIlroy will appear on international editions after winning the world vote over Luke Donald, adding to the Rickie/Rory rivalry that has begun to emerge."There is bit of a rivalry between Rory and I, especially with me being from the U.S. and Rory from Ireland representing Europe," Fowler said. "Right now it is a friendly rivalry more than anything. I would say he is a step ahead of me right now, but I am trying to chase him down. We are both young, and I look forward to playing against him for a long time. "Down the road I think we could be a huge rivalry in golf," he said. "We both need to do more and establish ourselves a bit further, though, before we can have a full-blown rivalry."To establish himself, Fowler needs to win. While he picked up his first professional victory this year, he remains winless on the PGA Tour, and he feels the weight of his fans' expectations -- especially after they voted him onto the cover of golf's biggest video game franchise."I know there are expectations, and I want to play well for my fans and show that I appreciate them all," Fowler said. "I also have a lot of my own expectations, too. My goals for myself may be a bit higher -- I put pressure on myself because I expect a lot out of myself. I'm focused on those personal goals, but there is still that bit of pressure to play well for your fans. I don't want to let them down."With Fowler's inclusion on the cover of Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13, that fan base is sure to grow, bolstering the bright-orange sea of Puma-flat-brim-wearing Fowler fanatics. He has become a role model and he knows it."Not so long ago, I was in their position," Fowler said of his young fans. "I was looking up to these guys on Tour and they were my role models. I always tell people, whether it's parents or kids or whatnot, it is cool to be in the position that I am now and I'm very lucky. But I also tell fans that they should pick something they want to do, dream big, and make sure it's always fun."Those fans are likely going to play Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13 as Fowler, but who will Fowler choose as his avatar?"It used to be Tiger," Fowler said. "It was his game and all, so I would always play as Tiger. Now, though, I think I'm going to have to go in and make myself the default character and play as me." And the first course he is planning to play?"Augusta." Tweet
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