Fowler and Wolff Make It Easy for Oklahoma State Fans to be Excited on Sunday

No college football, but college spirit will be mindful on Sunday as Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff will be the two golfers in orange.

USA Today Sports Images - Adam Hagy/Bruce Kluckhohn

EDMOND -- I'll admit that I'm no golf expert. I've never been good at the game and typically played because I got talked into it by friends, love being outdoors, especially love it when it's hot, and enjoy a frequent visit by the beverage cart. I'm a typical passe golf observer meaning I will watch the majors on television, but have to be pretty absent of any other activities to sit down and really watch a weekly tour event on television. I can catch the "Cliff Notes" on ESPN Sports Center. 

However, in this age of the COVID-19 pandemic and absence of real live sports events, I am planning a watch party for the TaylorMade Driving Relief for Charity Event on Sunday (May 17) that features a chance to root for a pair of Cowboys that wore the swinging Pete in Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff against the World (Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy). 

I've met Fowler a few times, really like him, down to earth and not a superstar persona. He comes off as just a good guy. Hey, he still likes to be recognized as a dirt bike racer. 

Matthew Wolff is also a down to earth guy that has an unorthodox swing and isn't afraid to do things his own way. He says his favorite sport to watch in "college football, Oklahoma State Cowboys." How can I not be onboard with this guy. It is the greatest scenario for Oklahoma State fans, cheering on an complete Cowboy duo. The only thing missing will be Larry Reece on the introductions and Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb on the commentary. 

As for the details on how the match will work. It is being contested on the Seminole Golf Club Course in Juno Beach, Fla. that was designed by Donald Ross and opened in 1929. The 6,836-yard layout features a number of sand dune ridges that were carefully brought into some fairways. The fairways lead to a combination of elevated green sites, while others drop down from sandy peaks to flatter terrain. Both the front and the back nines set out from the clubhouse on level ground before veering into the 40-foot dune ridge that runs alongside the western edge of the property. It is a par 72 course, but par won't factor into this at all.

The two teams are not playing the course, but they are battling each other. It will be a typical skins game format with each hole worth a certain dollar figure. The team with the lowest score on the hole takes the skin. If the two teams tie on the hole then that skin value carries over to the next hole. If the two teams play a lot of holes even then think Oklahoma Lottery with a big carryover.  

The total amount is known in that it is $3-million and the good guys, Fowler and Wolff are playing for the CDC Foundation (Center for Disease Control) and Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson are playing for the American Nurses Foundation. Both teams will start with a bankroll of $500,000 and the first six holes are worth $50,000 each. The next 10 holes are worth $100,000 each. Then the 17th hole is worth $200,000 and the final hole, number 18, is worth $500,000. You don't have to be a math genius to understand a few draws on the back nine could lead to a crazy finish.

Social distancing will be observed, but Fowler said that won't bother him in encouraging and cheering on his teammate in Matthew Wolff. The two are both from California, both went to Oklahoma State, and Wolff says it was Fowler that was the golfer he looked up to. On Twitter, you can see that Wolff is a golfer that Fowler likes to imitate. 

Rickie Fowler's Wolff impression is pretty solid... pic.twitter.com/jftbMzI2PF

— GOLFTV (@GOLFTV) May 1, 2020

Unorthodox swing aside, Wolff was quoted this week on the fact that he might have an advantage in that there will be no caddies. The players have the option of carrying their bag, like they did in college or as amateurs. It was just over a year ago that Wolff was carrying his bag in the NCAA Division I Champioship at The Blessings Club in Arkansas.

"It was one of the hilliest courses I've ever walked," Wolff said Thursday on a media conference call. "So I mean, it's been definitely nice having a caddie carrying my bag, but with the carry bag it shouldn't be too hard. Seminole is a pretty easy walk."

Fowler has occasionally carried his bag in practice rounds on the tour, but admits it is not his favorite and that aspect might help his team because of Wolff.

"It wasn't my favorite, but it definitely brought back some memories of college golf," Fowler said. "I think Matt is going to be in the best situation since he's not far off of college golf, so he may have the upper leg there."

Fowler's bag will be of interest because he will be using a new set of irons that he helped TaylorMade design for his equipment company, Cobra. For now they are called Rickie Fowler Prototype MB, and they are the culmination of a year-long process that saw Fowler and Cobra go through 33 revisions before arriving at the finished product.

Can the @OSUCowboyGolf boys wrangle the current and former World No. 1?@RickieFowler and @matthew_wolff5 relish the opportunity. #DrivingRelief pic.twitter.com/MRZH0y9hTX

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) May 5, 2020

While the two former World top-ranked golfers in Rory McIlroy (current No. 2 on the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings) and Dustin Johnson (No. 10) are favored against the former Pokes in Fowler (No. 31) and Wolff (No. 87), the latest word out of Las Vegas is the gamblers like Fowler and Wolff. 

The current odds have favored McIlroy/Johnson at -225 and Fowler/Wolff at +175.

That means that in order to win a profit of $100 that you have to wager $225 on McIlroy and Johnson (payout would be $325). It also means that if you wager $100 on Flower and Wolff then you will profit $175 (payout would be $275).

Fowler doesn't mind being the underdog. 

“Obviously you look at it on paper and Rory and DJ are nothing short of impressive," Folwer said this week in a media teleconference. "But we have a lot of these two-on-two games at home, whether it's during this time or weeks off throughout the year, and any given day, I think you see it, as well, out on TOUR, the depth of golf over the last few years and even past that, on any given day it's such a fine line.

“We'll take the underdog spot, but when that day comes, basically it's a toss-up on who has got the hot putter," Fowler concluded. "It could be just a battle throughout the day.”