Establishment (Davis Love III) vs. New Breed (Rickie Fowler)

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SAN DIEGO -- One of the themes for the 2011 PGA TOUR season is the competition involving the Establishment vs. the New Breed. How will the established players -- those with significant TOUR experience and long-standing championship pedigree -- fare against the young, hungry up-and-comers who are looking to nudge their way into the TOUR's elite?

Each week, PGATOUR.COM will select two players -- one from the New Breed and one for the Establishment -- and analyze their chances heading into the tournament. We'll then track which player has the better score for his team, and keep a running tally throughout the year.

This week for the Farmers Insurance Open, we've selected Rickie Fowler for the New Breed and Davis Love III for the Establishment.

Fowler recently spoke about being on the New Breed side this year.

"It's pretty cool to see the comparisons because those are the guys I grew up watching and they were playing when I was a kid," Fowler said. "... When you go out and you play against the best players in the world, you want to beat them. Doesn't matter about their age.

"But comparing the generations coming up, we don't care how old the guys are, we're trying to win. Doesn't matter if a guy's 45 or 22. We're not worrying about age as much as possibly the generations show. But it's pretty cool to be considered part of the new young guns coming out and having a chance to make a difference."

ESTABLISHMENT AGE: 46 YEARS ON TOUR: He is in his 27th full season on TOUR. OVERVIEW: Love joined the PGA TOUR in 1986 after a standout career at the University of North Carolina. Few can match the 20-time TOUR winner's record of consistency over that stretch, too. Love has only finished lower than 50th on the money list four times -- and never finished outside the top 100. He was ranked as high as second in the world in 1999 -- two years after his signature victory in the PGA Championship at Winged Foot where the son of the late, highly-regarded teaching pro beat his good friend Justin Leonard by five. A six-time member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team, Love came full circle when he was named last week as the captain of the 2012 squad. STATE OF HIS GAME: With this year's Presidents Cup and the Ryder Cup as extra motivation, Love opened 2011 with a solid tie for ninth at the Sony Open in Hawaii. He did everything well that week -- ranking 13th in driving distance, 38th in driving accuracy, 22nd in greens in regulation and 27th in putts per round. HISTORY IN THIS EVENT: Tiger Woods may be unmatched at this course, but Love's record at Torrey Pines is pretty solid. During a six-year stretch from 1996-2001, Love had one win, as well as a second, third and fourth. Those four are his only top 10s in 13 starts, though. His last appearance came in 2009 where he opened with a 66 and went on to finish in a tie for 35th. OUTLOOK THIS WEEK: Love certainly enters the week on a high note after being named the Ryder Cup captain, and he's motivated to be a playing one. He's a cumulative 87 under in the 10 times he's made the cut, but only 3 under in his last two starts since the South Course's redesign. LISTEN IN: Love will be wearing a microphone during his first round Thursday. You can listen to his on-course commentary during the Golf Channel's coverage of the first round from 3 p.m.-6 p.m. ET. Click here for a 2011 preview of Love   NEW BREED AGE: 22 YEARS ON TOUR: He is in his second full season on TOUR. OVERVIEW: The Oklahoma State product's rise on TOUR has been nothing short of meteoric. He received the Ben Hogan Award as the nation's top collegian as a freshman and turned pro after earning All-America honors a year later. It didn't take Fowler long to make an impact as a pro, either -- he lost in playoffs in his second start on the Nationwide Tour and his first on the PGA TOUR. Fowler had seven top-10s last year, including seconds at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and the Memorial Tournament, and finished 32nd in the FedExCup standings to earn PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year honors. Corey Pavin made him a Captain's Pick for the Ryder Cup, and he came up with two halves for the U.S., including in singles against Eduardo Molinari where he battled back with birdies on his final four holes. STATE OF HIS GAME: The Farmers Insurance Open will be Fowler's 2011 debut. He's been visiting with family in Southern California and preparing for the tournament at the Titleist Performance Institute. Judging by past performances, though, he should do well. Fowler tied for fifth at Torrey Pines last year. HISTORY IN THIS EVENT: Fowler's appearance last year was his first in the Farmers Insurance Open, and he had a legitimate chance to win his first PGA TOUR event. He was in the mix on Sunday until he made double bogey on the 17th hole. Even so, those rounds of 67-70-70-70 have to give Fowler confidence as he makes his return. OUTLOOK THIS WEEK: Counting tournaments in Malaysia and Shanghai, Fowler closed the year with three top-five finishes in his last five stroke-play events -- including a tie for third at the Children's Miracle Network Classic in mid-November. Doubtful there's much rust to shake off, so look for him to play well. Click here for a 2011 preview of Fowler

Tee times

First- and second-round tee times for Love, Fowler

Davis Love III Will be playing in a threesome with Stewart Cink and Bubba Watson. That group tees off from the 1st tee (South Course) at 1 p.m. ET in Thursday's first round and from the 10th tee (North Course) at 12:50 p.m. ET in Friday's second round. Rickie Fowler Will be playing in a threesome with Marc Leishman and Charles Howell III. That group tees off from the 10th tee (North Course) at 1:10 p.m. ET in Thursday's first round and from the 1st tee (South Course) at Noon ET in Friday's second round.

For all tee times, please click here

Establishment vs. New Breed: 2011 results

Here are the results of the previous matchups this year

ESTABLISHMENT Score/Finish Tournament NEW BREED Score/Finish   Steve Stricker 20 under (T-4th) Hyundai TOC Dustin Johnson 14 under (T-9th)   Ernie Els 4 under (T-42nd) Sony Open Jason Day 8 under (T-20th) Stewart Cink 5 under (MC) Bob Hope Classic Bubba Watson 7 under (MC)