Rickie Fowler Qualifies for British Open With Ridiculously Clutch Final Round at Colonial

After this month’s Wells Fargo Championship, Rickie Fowler cracked the top 50 in the world for the first time in more than two years. 

But heading into the Charles Schwab Challenge, the five-time PGA Tour winner was again on the outside looking in on that important threshold. He stood at No. 51. 

Although the Charles Schwab Challenge doesn’t boast a $20 million purse, it had huge implications for major championship qualifying. 

The British Open invites the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking to be a part of its field, but the cut-off is the 21st week of the calendar year: the week of the Charles Schwab Challenge. 

After the third round at Colonial, Fowler was projected by golf rankings expert Nosferatu to place 50th or 51st after the tournament, depending on the performance of another player, Adam Schenk. 

So Fowler needed a particularly strong final round in Fort Worth in order to sneak into the top 50 and earn a spot at Royal Liverpool. 

He did exactly that. 

The Oklahoma State product shot a 3-under 67—tying the best round of the day—to shoot 19 spots up the leaderboard and finish in a tie for sixth place, three shots behind the eventual champion, Emiliano Grillo. 

With the clutch round, Fowler rose to No. 46 in the world, well inside the cutoff for the last major championship of the year.