Rickie Fowler Just Might Be Peaking at the Perfect Time

Rickie Fowler was staring at a victory.

Sunday at the Truist Championship, he was standing in the fairway, 202 yards from the hole on Quail Hollow’s par-4 18th—where he earned his maiden PGA Tour win 14 years ago and became a golf sensation—with a one-stroke lead.

What happened next was not how Fowler drew it up.

The 37-year-old’s approach shot fell in the left rough, although it stayed dry. Now, he needed to get up-and-down for par from 49 feet. He chipped to 9 feet, but missed his par attempt. Bogey.

Despite a final-round 65, that dropped him into a tie for the lead with several groups behind him left to complete their rounds. Ultimately, Tour rookie Kristoffer Reitan prevailed.

It wasn’t a win, but for Fowler, it was another positive step.

“Obviously now, bummed not to be in a position to at least maybe to be in a playoff or having a chance to win,” Fowler said afterward. “But at the same time, if you would have told me at seven back [entering the final round] that I was going to be out front and have a chance to post, yeah, a lot of really good stuff this week, especially with being a little under the weather.”

Finishing T2, it was Fowler’s best result since his last win, the 2023 Rocket Classic. Now, he’s up to No. 37 in the world ranking, his highest mark since the spring of 2024. A year ago at this time, he was outside the top 100.

After entering the final hole tied for the lead, Rickie Fowler bogeyed to fall one back after a 6-under final round @TruistChamp. pic.twitter.com/zhtxX2cOfW
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 10, 2026

What has changed? This season, he’s top 50 on Tour in every strokes-gained category except around the green, in which he’s 112th. In 2025, he was outside the top 50 in every strokes-gained stat except off the tee (43rd). His biggest turnaround is with his putting, as he’s 12th this season, and was 77th a year ago (although, Sunday at the Truist, he missed that par putt on the last and a 7-footer for birdie on No. 16)

He’s now on a heater, coming off three straight top 10s among four in total this season, all in signature events. In 2025, despite a lackluster season, he finished 32nd in the FedEx Cup, earning a spot in the signature tournaments. Clearly, he’s taking advantage.

He’s also regained some swagger.

“Belief in myself and to be able to execute,” Fowler said Sunday at Quail, “so, I mean, that comes from both, obviously you have to have the belief, but then getting the feedback from hitting the actual shots and executing what you're trying to do, so those feed off of each other. I feel like I’ve been able to do a good job of committing and so that’s, that all works together.”

This run is reminiscent of 2023, when Fowler was trying to end a winless drought that stretched back to the 2019 WM Phoenix Open. That year, he had three consecutive top 10s at the Charles Schwab Challenge, Memorial and U.S. Open, where he held the 54-hole lead but finished T5.

Then, following a T13 at the Travelers, which included a third-round 60, he topped Collin Morikawa and Adam Hadwin in a playoff at Detroit Golf Club.

Fowler now heads into the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in good form. Despite his age, could he still somehow secure a major championship? It’d be a win for the ages.

And for the record, he placed T8 at Aronimink’s BMW Championship in 2018. Plus, a T13 when the course held the AT&T National in 2011 (he missed the cut in 2010, though).

Maybe he didn’t achieve his seventh Tour title last week. But the way he’s playing, it might not be long before that happens, decked out in his Sunday orange.

“A lot of good stuff and definitely happy with where the game's been, how it’s been progressing, and obviously where we are right now,” he said.

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