Sports Then and Now

Rickie Fowler will be playing with Rory McIlroy and Ernie Els in the opening rounds of the British Open.

The official website of the Open Championship has singled out American golfers, Peter Uihlein and Rickie Fowler as ‘ones to watch’ at the 140th installment of the tournament.

Fowler and Uihlein, who have been practicing together at the Royal St George’s Golf Club, are said to have “bright orange futures”, in reference to the tangerine strip of the Oklahoma State University, where the two golfers cut their teeth as amateurs. Fowler, who is rarely seen without a baseball cap, has a number of orange outfits that make the kitsch trousers of English golfer, Ian Poulter, appear tame in comparison. Those following the Open betting won’t have a hard keeping track of them.

Uihlein, the younger of the Oklahoma pairing, at 21-years-old, has been drawn with Australia’s Geoff Ogilvy, and ‘The Mechanic’, Miguel Angel Jimenez, of Spain. Uihlein goes into the 140th Open Championship as an amateur but, having held the top slot on the World Amateur Golf Ranking, he is sure to make an impression on his comrades in Group 10. The golfer won the US Amateur Championship last year to claim his first entry for the British Open. The Betfair golf betting indicates he could make a decent impression.

Fowler is already making waves in the Majors, tying for 14th at last year’s British Open, and for 38th at the Masters earlier this year. Notably, he played for the United States in the Ryder Cup in 2010 and in the Walker Cup in 2009, with Uihlein. The youngster is set to receive a master class in professional golf later this week, after being drawn with the South African, Ernie Els, and Rory McIlroy at the British Open.