Rickie Fowler Finally Made the Call to Butch Harmon Last Fall, and His Resurgence Continues
NORTH BERWICK, Scotland – Butch Harmon wondered if the phone might vibrate with a certain caller ID emanating from South Florida. Or if a text message might ping. Or if words might filter to him through some other means.
But there was no way the famed golf instructor was going to make the first move.
“I had to bite my tongue a zillion times,’’ Harmon said on the phone from Las Vegas, where he spends most of his time now. “It hurt me to watch him play and see how he was playing.’’
Harmon was referring to his one-time student Rickie Fowler, who had fallen on hard times in recent years, falling out of the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking and going more than four years without a win.
The breakthrough came two weeks ago at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, where Fowler birdied the 72nd hole to force a three-hole playoff that he won over Collin Morikawa and Adam Hadwin.
But signs of the long-awaited win dated to last fall, when Fowler made the call to Harmon.
“When he called me, he had reached rock bottom, 185th in the world,’’ Harmon said. “Couldn’t make cuts. No consistency, no confidence in himself. We built his swing back to 2013. He had reverted back to a lot of old stuff. A flatter swing. He got stuck behind him. And so he went to work. A bigger turn, his club could get down the line and not laid off. He bought into it right way.’’
Fowler is quick to give credit to his previous teacher, John Tillery, whom he believes taught him a considerable amount that he simply could not translate into success.
That is why he last year started to make some changes, including the difficult one to seek out a different voice – or often in this case, a different video message.
“I learned a lot from Tillery,’’ Fowler said at the Renaissance Club, where he shot 67-67 through the first two rounds of the Genesis Scottish Open. “Both of us were bummed that it never exactly worked. We could never build momentum. We had some decent weeks and never backed it up. I knew what I needed to do. And with Butch we needed some drastic changes to get to where I needed to be and we both knew what needed to be done.’’
It started with Harmon enlisting the help of his brother, Craig, also a golf instructor who is a member at The Medalist, the same club where Fowler belongs.
The idea was for Craig Harmon to get video of Fowler and send it to Butch Harmon, who several years ago cut way back on his travel.
Harmon, who turns 80 next month, has worked with a wide range of major champions, including Greg Norman, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Davis Love III and Ernie Els.
As Harmon started cutting back his travel – he is also no longer doing as much work for Sky Sports in the United Kingdom – Fowler felt he needed to make a switch.
“Change is not easy. Bad shots are part of the process. We have to learn from them. When he saw the results that were so much better, it gave him the confidence.
“I said at the beginning of the year he was going to win again,’’ Harmon said. “A lot of things were on the right rack. He had to start putting well like he used to. How could he putt so bad? When you’re putting for birdie it’s a little easier than putting for pars on every hole. You start to lose your confidence. It’s all part of it.
“I talked to him after the 75 (in the final round) at the U.S. Open and told him it was just a speed bump. You win if you make any putts. You hadn’t been in that position in a long time. I could see from his first tee shot he was quick. It wasn’t choking, it was anxiety. I knew if he kept putting himself there, he was going to see a result.’’
Fowler was 148th in the world following a tie for 47th at last year’s Scottish Open. He had dropped to 185th following the FedEx Cup playoffs and before his first start of the new season at the Fortinet Championship, where he tied for sixth. He added a tie for second at the ZOZO Championship soon after visiting in person with Harmon.
“It was more getting back to playing golf and having a few things we were focusing on,’’ Fowler said. “And maybe take one thing on the course that I needed to make sure I focused on. From there, it was hit golf shots, play golf, and take the hands of the steering wheel a little bit.’’
Since the start of 2023, Fowler has 13 top-20 finishes, including six top-10s. There was a chance to win at both the U.S. Open and the Travelers Championship before breaking through in Detroit.
The good play has carried over to Scotland, where Fowler was hanging around the top 10 on Friday. Next week it’s on to the British Open at Royal Liverpool, where in 2014, Fowler finished second to Rory McIlroy.
“He wasn’t even playing in the majors,’’ said Harmon, who noted that Fowler has missed the past three Masters. “But he stayed being the same nice person and it had to be beating the crap out of him inside. If you watch him now, you can see it in the way he walks, you can see the confidence is back. The game is so much better with him being a big part of it.’’