Rickie Fowler Has Sheepish Bathroom-Related Excuse for Shaky First Round Finish

Fowler had a strong first round at the Rocket Mortgage Classic but bogeyed the last two holes—though he had a good excuse for why that happened.

Rickie Fowler put together a strong opening round at the Rocket Mortgage Classic on Thursday, turning in a 5-under-par 67. He would have fared even better were it not for back-to-back bogeys on the final two holes, ending his round on a bit of a sour note.

But, as it turns out, Fowler had a perfectly good—and highly relatable—reason for the lackluster finish: Mother Nature was calling.

“To be perfectly honest, I had to go to the bathroom pretty badly … There weren’t many bathrooms the last five holes, so I was a little shaky coming in,” Fowler told reporters after the round. “Not to necessarily blame the finish on that, but it didn’t help.”

🚽🧻💩 Rickie Fowler finished his round of 5-under-par (67) with two bogeys. 🗣️ “To be perfectly hoenst I had to go the bathroom pretty badly…. There weren’t many bathrooms the last 5 holes so I was a little shaky coming in…” @RickieLegion

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— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) June 29, 2023

Before the final two holes, Fowler was certainly in a groove. The 34-year-old had eight birdies with just one bogey through the first 16 holes before tripping up near the finish line. Even with the slip-ups at the end, he returned to the clubhouse in a tie for 10th place and just three shots behind the leader, Peter Kuest.

This is Fowler’s second event after his fifth-place finish at the U.S. Open, in which he held at least a share of the lead at the end of each of the first three rounds. He finished tied for 13th at the Travelers Championship last week, his ninth top-15 finish in his last 10 starts.