The first time Barry McDonnell identified Rickie Fowler as special, as a future big leaguer, the 8-year-old was not even known as Rickie. They called him Rick back then at the Murrieta Valley Golf Range, where it was clear the boy had a gift that would take him places most kids couldn't fathom while plowing through buckets of scuffed-up balls.
The grandson of a Scottish golf pro, McDonnell didn't bother fixing the flaws in Fowler's swing in their sessions under the teacher's favorite shade tree. McDonnell didn't want to bog down Fowler with information, or in any way impede the natural talent the boy regularly flashed on this modest training ground wedged between Los Angeles and San Diego.