Rickie Fowler Will Always Be Popular, But Soon He Might Also Win Again
DUBLIN, Ohio – There are few needle movers in professional golf.
By definition, a needle-mover is a player who, no matter how well they play, has the immediate attention of the golfing public and at times the non-golfing public as well. Tiger Woods is the ultimate needle-mover over the last 30 years, and no one else comes close.
Usually a needle-mover draws a crowd that calls out their name with hopes of a nod, wave, selfie or an autograph.
But on-course success is not always required to be a needle-mover.
Which takes me to Rickie Fowler, or to his fans, just Rickie. By the way, for a needle-mover, one name is all it takes. Tiger, Rory, Jordan, and Rickie. No nicknames like Big Easy, aka Ernie Els, but one word, fewer syllables the better.
Fowler, at 34, should be in the prime of his golfing career The two-time Walker Cupper left the amateur ranks as a can’t-miss prospect and by that measure his game is not the main reason he is a needle-mover.
With five PGA Tour wins and runner-up finishes in the Masters, U.S. Open and Open Championship, Fowler is hardly a failed prospect, but at the same time he has not matched the lofty expectations once bestowed upon him.
“I would say they were definitely tough times,” Fowler said of missing 18 cuts in 28 events in 2021 and 2022. “It's never easy. But I had to look at it as a challenge and knew that it was something that was going to be worth it when we get through this and get on the good side.”
Fowler has made 11 of 12 cuts since the calendar turned to 2023, and he’s seen his name on the leaderboard more than any year since he turned pro in 2009. In the last 11 events, Fowler has nine top 20 finishes including a T6 at last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge, where he teetered on the cut line during the second round and put together a solid weekend for his best finish of 2023.
He’s tied for seventh through 36 holes this week at the Memorial.
“Probably patience and just accepting kind of what I had,” Fowler said of how he shot a 4-under 68 here on Friday afternoon. “I wasn't swinging great, by any means, but tried not to necessarily fight it and just move forward. It's a bit dicey. It's a fine line. You see some high scores, some low scores. You drive it well, you can score, but if you get out of position, you can have a very long day out there.”
Except when missing the cut at the PGA Championship last month at Oak Hill, Fowler hasn’t had a round over-par since the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in early March.
In his last five tournaments Fowler has made the cut, his scoring average is 68.7, which if he could duplicate this weekend, would make him a threat on Sunday to win his first tournament since the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open.
“Oh, it's huge,” Fowler said of maintaining confidence. “That's what's probably been the biggest thing last fall, and then especially this calendar year, is weeks where my -- very rarely are we ever lights out and playing at a hundred percent. You're always -- something is maybe a little bit off. But having maybe if a couple areas aren't the best and just being able to get around and turn those into made cuts and top 20s or top 10s.”
Fowler pointed to Colonial last week when he moved from the cut line to a top 10 finish.
“So, yeah, you get a lot more confidence out of those weeks when you know you're bringing below-average game and hanging around and then able to take advantage of when you get opportunities,” Fowler said.
Whatever he does with his opportunity this weekend, it will not change his needle-mover status.
“There were plenty of times where it was more go in and kind of hope for the best or see what we had,” Fowler said of his former struggles. “Very different situation than where I am now, where I know what I'm capable of. “