ATLANTA – Gamesmanship? Character-building? A curious strategy?
It was none of the above, according to Rickie Fowler. The fact that his playing partner, Jimmy Walker, held a cellphone to his ear on the final hole of a match against Zach Johnson and Jordan Spieth was a matter of business protocol.
It seems as if Walker had been asked to do a conference call promoting next month’s Frys.com Open, at which he will be the defending champion. And the timing came as the foursome played the par-5 ninth and final hole of a practice-round match at East Lake Golf Club, the final dress rehearsal to the annual Tour Championship.
With the match all square after Fowler and Walker won the par-4 eighth, Spieth and Johnson missed their birdie tries and stepped to the side. Walker had a 20-footer to win, but he kept the phone to his ear and answered more questions. Taking the cue, Fowler re-marked his ball, looked at it from both sides of the hole, then jammed in a 3-footer to win.
“I know (Walker) had my back with that 20-footer,” Fowler said, laughing. “But those tricky 3-footers will get you. You’ve got to make them.”
The fact that all four players will be on the U.S. Ryder Cup team in Scotland in two weeks isn’t a coincidence. Johnson and Fowler conceded that they have talked with their captain, Tom Watson, and to an assistant, Steve Stricker, and have been encouraged to start thinking about potential matchups.
Johnson, in fact, said, “I think Jordan and I would be terrific (as a pairing)," and Fowler was equally excited about Walker. “I would love the opportunity to play with Jimmy,” he said. “He and I have talked about it.”
Johnson said that Spieth arranged for the four of them to play and came up with the teams, but it is all pure conjecture at this point. “We don’t know anything,” Johnson said. “I think all of us have talked to (Stricker) about it, but for the most part that’s irrelevant. I don’t think it matters. I think we’re versatile enough and we know each other well enough.”