• Open Championship, Round Three

After outshining Rory, Rickie ready for major moment

Rickie Fowler seemed unaffected by conditions that bullied more experienced players © Getty Images

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It's been obvious all week who the galleries at the Open Championship have been supporting, but even the most anti-Rory McIlroy golf fan around (does such a person exist anymore?) would have been forced to admit that, in the wet and wind of Saturday's conditions, the Northern Irishman was the more likely victor of his pairing with Rickie Fowler.

Yet how wrong they would have been.

To call it a 'miracle' that Fowler was even on the same score as the Northern Irishman after two rounds of quintessential links golf at Royal St George's would be to do him a disservice, but it was nevertheless something of a surprise that the surf-style kid from California would keep pace with the newly-crowned major champion four months his junior.

Starting their round at 12.35pm on level terms at even par, the duo - who have now played together for the first three rounds of both this year's Open and The Masters - were confronted by conditions that Open competitors haven't really experienced since Royal Birkdale three years ago or the third round at Muirfield in 2002 (when Tiger Woods slumped to an 81).

The rain was coming down in droves, while the wind seemed to stay steady at about 20mph with occasional gusts of almost double that.

Fowler isn't really used to such conditions, not on links golf courses at least. A collegiate player in the US, at Oklahoma State, Fowler is used to sunshine and stadium courses, not bump-and-runs in conditions only a few lost degrees away from a blizzard.

Even he admitted that, if he wasn't playing, you wouldn't have had a chance of getting him out there with the fans.

"I would have been at home watching on TV," Fowler said. "It just shows you how great the fans are to stick it out. It's nice to have a lot of fans out there. I definitely have to thank them."

McIlroy, on the other hand, has grown up with these sorts of challenges all his life. As a 16-year-old he shot 61 around Royal Portrush in conditions that would hardly be described as glorious, while he built a glittering amateur career around performances that saw their fair share of rainy days.

Fowler, meanwhile, has a Walker Cup appearance, a debut Open last year at St Andrews (tied-14th) and a Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor to call upon. That's about it.

This isn't an arena where the American is supposed to shine (figuratively - in very literal terms he's famously achieved that pretty well over his short career to date), then. This is McIlroy's turf.

Yet, come the end of the day, it was he that had the low round of the day (68) to his name, while McIlroy was the one failing to distinguish himself from the crowd after a four-over 74.

Fowler might not have that much experience, but it seems he has the game - and the mindset. His taste in flash clothes and Justin Bieber haircuts has just obscured that fact from us.

"For the situation, tournament, where I am in career, it's probably the worst conditions I've played in and the best I've played," Fowler noted. "[But] I love links golf. I love the variety and the options you get on the course. There are so many ways to hit a shot - it's the way I grew up playing the game. It's rare the course plays the same way on a four-day tournament. It's just a lot of fun.

"When you make the best of it and go in it with the right attitude, 68 is possible, but I had to play pretty good."

He may only be 22, but Fowler and his caddie, Joe Skovron, don't miss a trick, either. With veteran Tom Watson playing well in some truly awful weather early on Saturday, both men studied the 61-year-old to glean ways they could be better prepared.

"Joe and I watched a little bit of the coverage prior to us going out, and just saw kind of how he looked like he was having fun, smiling, and embracing the conditions," Fowler said, adding Skovron also watched Watson's caddie to see how he kept clubs and gloves dry.

Gaining every edge he can, Fowler is firmly in contention now - yet he certainly didn't get the luck of the draw over the first two days. If McIlroy can bemoan his early-late tee times, where the conditions were both at their worst of the days, then the same certainly applies to Fowler.

"Seems this tournament more so than any other you've got to get a good draw," the Northern Irishman noted, with a hint of dejection. "It's not worked out for me this week."

There's still one day to go, though. Just as Fowler had his day today, so McIlroy - or any number of players still in or around the hunt - could be the one with the better touch in the all-important final round.

Fowler and McIlroy had contrasting fortunes on Saturday © PA Photos

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But, on the day Watson showed that links expertise never really leaves you, Fowler demonstrated unequivocally that he too has the sort of game that can deal with any type of golf, even those of which he has little personal experience.

That's the sign of a great all-round golfer, yet it was previously one of the few question marks still against his name.

The second, which still hangs over him, is whether or not he can finally go ahead and actually close out a professional tournament.

That's been the problem so far in his career, with three second-place finishes on the PGA Tour both a testament to his prodigious talent and a warning of his penchant for Sunday slides. He made little of a glorious opportunity to win at Memorial in 2010, perhaps the best chance to date he's had to claim that maiden title.

He's acutely aware of that, though. He may have beaten McIlroy on the day, but he knows that's just one successful battle in a friendly war that even he concedes he's not yet winning.

"I'd say he's a step ahead of me," Fowler said, when asked about playing with McIlroy. "He's got a couple of wins and a major under his belt. [McIlroy's win at the US Open] definitely motivated me and gave me more confidence, because we are the same age and in a similar part of our career."

Rory took home America's national championship. Fowler is now in a fine position to repay the favour. After answering one question about his ability today, he could just answer the other about his winning touch tomorrow.

"I'd love for my first win to be a major," Fowler, who confirmed he will wear Oklahoma State orange head-to-toe for the occasion, said. "You play every tournament to win. I'm in a perfect place for tomorrow. It was important to play well today.

"It's going to give me a lot of confidence going into Sunday."

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