Rickie a Follower of Tiger Tracks?

Rickie Fowler is taking the PGA TOUR by storm.

The humble 20-year old who left Oklahoma State after two years, and held out turning professional until after a second Walker Cup team victory at Merion in early September, is trying to do what Tiger Woods did in 1999—avoid Q-School and get a pass directly to the PGA TOUR.

As a professional, Fowler warmed up with two starts on the Nationwide Tour before teeing it up with the Big Boys at the last two PGA TOUR Fall Series events.

With four rounds in the 60s and a T7 finish at the Justin Timberlake event in his new hometown of Las Vegas the new pro won over $100K in his first week.

The next week he did even better—though he lost in a playoff to Troy Matteson at the Frys.com Open and went home netting $440K.

His professional earnings of $553,710 in two events would place him 135th on the Money List if he was a member of the PGA TOUR.

The Bubble Boy who is probably too young to know Seinfeld's Bubble Boy episode opened with a six-under 66 this morning at the Disney hosted Children's Miracle Network could pull on Tiger's Tail with three more solid rounds.

At T2 position after Day One, a Top 15 finish in the season's final event would eliminate the $70K gap to the 125th place on the Money List and likely earn Fowler a fully exempt PGA TOUR card for 2010.

In the fall of 1996 Tiger came on the scene in Milwaukee, Canada, Quad Cities and the B.C. Open with T60, 11, T5, and T3 finishes respectively.

Then he won in Las Vegas and two weeks later added another tournament victory here at the Walt Disney World Resort.

Tiger the Big Cat, no offense to Mickey or Minnie Mouse.

All in all he played 11 events as a professional earning nearly $800K and finishing No. 24 on the Money List earning his PGA TOUR Card without going to Q-School.

With four wins in his rookie season of 1997 including his first Major at The Masters "the rest they say is history," except in Tiger's case it continues to be "history in the making."

Fowler with a high finish this week can avoid Q-School and proclaim that he did in three tournaments what it took Tiger to do in eleven- earn the ticket to the Big Tour.

Turning 21 on Dec. 13, Fowler would be the youngest winner on TOUR since Phil Mickelson won in 1991 at 20 years and 6 months.

Shooting in the 60s in your first nine rounds as a professional on the PGA TOUR is a nice way to start off a career.

Birdieing five of his last six holes including a chip-in on the last the former Motocross competitor turned Cowboy now professional golfer is as fearless as they come.

"It's nothing special. I'm not doing anything different really, just kind of playing golf. It's nothing better than I've ever played before."

The Titleist equipment and Puma clothing ambassador may not have proclaimed "Hello World" like Tiger did before turning pro and signing big contracts with Nike and Titleist.

But nevertheless he is making a huge initial splash into the world of professional golf as big a story as when other youngsters Rory McIlroy, Ryo Ishikawa and Tadd Fujikawa competed on the PGA TOUR earlier this year.

There is absolutely no "deer in the headlight" look when it comes to this Tiger cub. Rather there is the steady gaze of a soon-to-be winner on the PGA TOUR.

"With amateur golf and college golf now we travel so much that, you know, it's nothing new."

"The biggest difference is we're playing for money, but you know, I'm still out here playing to win, so my mentality hasn't changed with that."

Still young and fearless making putts left and right, look for this white pant wearing Sunday Cowboy orange phenom to make it happen this week.

After all Fowler is in Tiger's tracks.

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR volunteering and working part time for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel.

He resides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach.

Enjoying the pursuit of his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it he can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to [e-mail]