Rickie Fowler

Fowler has been a superstar seemingly since the day he joined the PGA Tour in 2010 and yet, there's always been this feeling that he's not living up to expectations. That feeling stems from his lack of a major win and only five wins in total in 10 seasons. The tantalizing part is that he's in the mix quite often as evidence by his 14 career runner-ups. It always looks like the year that Fowler is going to break-out before the season starts, and then it ends up just being another highly-productive, yet unsatisfying season. There's no reason to think he's ever going to be among the elite, but there's also no reason to think he'll regress in any major way.

Is this the year? It's the same refrain every season for Fowler. Is this the year he breaks through? Fowler has accomplished a lot in his career, but he's missing that elusive major. He's also finished inside the top-10 on the FedEx list just once. He's seemingly been on the cusp of that elite level since he first joined the PGA Tour. Fowler has been on the PGA Tour for nine full seasons and he has over $34 million in earnings, yet he has only four wins. There's no questions that the hype around Fowler has always outpaced his play, but that doesn't mean that he's not legit. The question when considering Fowler is, will he take the next step this season? If so, then he's worth the price in a salary cap league. If not, he'll end up near the same spot on the money list again next year. There's little risk with Fowler, but will he ever reach his potential? It feels like he's getting closer and at the very least, he should contend at a major or two this season.

If hype were factored into earnings, Fowler would be on the top of the money list. As good as Fowler has been during his career, there's still a sense that he hasn't neared his peak yet. Fowler picked up one win, two runner-ups and two third-place showings last season and somehow, it's still not good enough. Fowler is at a point in his career where only a major victory will do. He's come close several times, but he always seems to do something to blow it during crunch time. It might be nerves, it might just be coincidence, but until he gets over the major hump, the golf world will expect more. Fowler is certainly good enough to significantly improve upon his number from last season, but it will likely take a major win and those are hard to write into projections.

Each year that passes, the pressure builds for Fowler in his quest to become a major-winner and one of the best players in the world. As far as the latter, Fowler certainly looked like one of the best golfers in the world from 2014-2015 while he racked-up two wins and multiple runner-ups at majors, but last year he regressed quite a bit. Fowler's loss is the salary cap player's gain however as his price is set in a very opportune spot for the upcoming season. At just under $3 million, he's not a "mist-have," but he's pretty close. Fowler is still in his 20's and there's room to grow, which is scary considering he averaged over $5 million in the two years leading up to last season. In draft leagues he's going to go late in the first or early in the second round.

Fowler finally lived-up to his potential in 2014 -- kind of. No, he wasn't able to rack up multiple wins or break through for his first major win, but he was able to compete during the majors. In fact, his results at the 2014 majors were unmatched as he finished in the top-5 at all four majors. Would a more seasoned-played have found a win among those four top-5s? Possibly, but the important thing is he was a factor against the best fields in the world. Fowler's ceiling is among the best in golf and if he can find just one more win in 2015, his earnings number could be through the roof. He's likely a first-round pick in draft leagues as well.

As far as fantasy golf goes, there aren't many players that are more of a lightning-rod than Rickie Fowler. Fowler has obvious talent, but he's been hyped so much it's hard to figure out if he's just really good or potentially great. He finished outside the top-40 last season, which has to be considered a disappointment, but just how high is his ceiling? Where do we expect him? Whether you think he's a top-10 player or just a top-30 player, he's got good value in salary cap formats because of his number from last year. In draft leagues he'll probably go in the 20-30 range, but don't be surprised if someone takes him in the 10-20 range.

It seemed to take forever, but it was actually only a few years before Rickie Fowler broke through with his first PGA TOUR victory. It felt that way because Fowler nearly won so early in his career and then seemed to regress during his sophomore campaign. Whatever the reason, that's all in the past as Fowler has that monkey off his back and can now look ahead to the next step. Fowler is one of the uber-talented young players on the PGA TOUR, and his ceiling is about as high as anyone's. As for 2013, there's no reason to think he'll regress, and there's plenty of reason to think he'll improve yet again, which makes him a great pick in salary cap leagues. In draft leagues he could go as early as the second round.

The PGA Tour is littered with young players living up to their potential. Fowler, however, is not quite there yet. The fact that Fowler did not pick up his first PGA Tour victory last season is surprising. The fact that his earnings dropped by nearly $1 million last year is shocking. Perhaps the expectations got to him. After all, he burst onto the scene in 2010, nearly winning twice, and the sky was the limit. He never found that 2010 form last year, however, and the year as a whole was a disappointment. Consider 2011 the calm before the storm, though, as Fowler is simply too good to linger in the low-$2-million range. Fowler will find a win somewhere on the schedule this season, and $3 million in earnings is more likely than not. Fowler is a third-round pick in draft leagues.

Fowler did about everything except win during his rookie season last year. Fowler finished in the top 10 in 25 percent of his starts last season, including two runner-up finishes. In both those runner-up finishes, Fowler came very close to winning, something that should come with time and experience on the PGA TOUR. Fowler is the youngest of the young guns on the PGA TOUR, and as such a small setback might be on the horizon. It's no coincidence that young players have a hard time sustaining success - it's a tough game and no price can be put on maturity and experience. Fowler's game will continue to grow this season, but to expect anything more than last season's results might be asking too much. Fowler ranked in the top 25 in GIR last season and finished no lower than 91st in the other core categories.

The All American at Oklahoma State tied for third in last October's Frys.com Open in just his third professional start and he then won his PGA Tour card in Q-school. He's a rookie of the year candidate and one to grab in deeper leagues.

Widely lauded Fowler is a sophomore at Oklahoma State University. At the start of 2009 he is ranked as the number two amateur in the world, second to Danny Lee. He tied for 60th at the 2008 U. S. Open. Fowler made his professional debut at the Nationwide Tour Boise Open, September 17, 2009.