PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Has anyone ever silenced his critics in more dramatic fashion than Rickie Fowler in winning The Players Championship? He was accused of being all style and little substance. He was the Anna Kournikova of golf, a crowd-pleaser, a brand name that could sell orange, flat-brimmed hats, sign every autograph and sing off-key with the Golf Boys. But his resume was short on wins, let alone winning a big one.
In a word, he was labeled overrated. Even his peers supposedly thought so.
Here’s the thing about being labeled: there’s usually the ring of truth and it can be difficult to escape a reputation.