HOYLAKE, England -- Nine years ago, the resplendent orange Rickie Fowler wore against the backdrop of Hoylake's cement-colored palate seemed like it glowed a little brighter. At the 2014 Open Championship, Fowler was still in his mid 20s, wearing a flat-billed, white and orange Puma hat with his website stitched on, sporting a golf swing that was far flatter, and a putter head that was much smaller.
Five years into his professional career, at the time, it felt like Fowler was starting to make real progress toward what at one point felt inevitable, guaranteed even: Winning.