KAPALUA, Hawaii – It should come as no surprise that Rickie Fowler splashed onto the Hyundai Tournament of Champions scene in his first appearance.
Actually, his splashes in Maui started well before he arrived at The Plantation Course at Kapalua.
Fowler arrived in Maui ahead of schedule to spend time with friends and fellow Red Bull-sponsored athletes, professional surfers Ian Walsh and Kai Lenny.
'(Thursday) was my third round of golf since I’ve been here, so been kind of balancing fun and golf,’ Fowler said.
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The fun he’s referring to included hanging out in nearby surf town Pa’ia, jumping off a cliff house and mountain-bike riding.
‘I’m holding off on surfing until next week. Ian is going to take me out and put me on some mellow stuff,’ Fowler said.
Mellow is good. Especially considering Fowler’s no-fear attitude and propensity for all things extreme.
‘I don’t know if I’m tempted to hurt myself, but I do take risks.’
As far as his golf game and his health – Fowler withdrew from the CIMB Classic last October because of inflamed joints in his lower back – Fowler says he’s working on getting completely healthy.
‘I’m not 100 percent, yet. ... But with everything I’ve always done, enjoying riding (BMX bikes) and stuff like that, I’m not always 100 percent. I like to have fun and I’ve always found a way to hit the golf ball.’