GREENSBORO, N.C. – After Rickie Fowler signed for a 2-over 72 at Sedgefield Country Club that officially ended a frustrating season, he agreed to talk the press because that’s what Fowler always does. A PGA Tour media official kicked off the festivities with a soft-ball question, asking, “Can you just give us a comment on just coming up a little bit short of the goal for the season?”
Fowler let those words sink in, smiled a weak smile, and said, “Yeah, I wouldn’t say it was a little bit short, it was a lot of a bit short.”
Fowler played in 24 events, missed nine cuts, including at this week’s Wyndham Championship and recorded just one top-10 finish. He entered the week at No. 130 in the FedEx Cup standings and needing to finish at least 21st or better to advance to the playoffs. Shooting 3-over 143 for 36 holes meant he failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in 12 seasons.
“Yeah, it sucks,” he said. “I mean, I know what I’m capable of, I’ve been up there and played against the best in the world and been a top-5, top-10 player in the world for a number of years in my career. I’m not in a position where I’m comfortable or where I want to be.”
But this was not the start of a woe-is-me tirade. Fowler didn’t let us into his head to understand how struggling for the first time is really affecting him. Instead, his mantra was to turn the page and only point forward.
“With the season ending now for me, it’s kind of just added motivation,” he said. “Hey, let’s figure out what we need to go do and let’s go do it.”
To that extent, he planned to spend the next few weeks getting back to work, and said he planned to schedule a call with all the members of his inner circle, such as caddie Joe Skovron, and figure out how to make this unscheduled downtime productive.
“I operate best when I’m kind of told what to do,” Fowler explained, noting his trainer, Derek, has created a workout regimen that pushes him beyond his limits. “If I had to go work out on my own, I probably wouldn’t do as well.”
And there is much work to be done. Fowler hasn’t won since the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open and the swing changes he’s made under the watchful eye of John Tillery haven’t achieved the desired results. When Fowler finished T-8 at the PGA Championship and T-11 at the Memorial in consecutive starts, it seemed as if he had turned the corner. But it proved to be a mirage – two cuts and three middling finishes since, none better than T-32.
“I still feel like it’s heading the right way,” Fowler said. “It’s not far off, but there’s a lack of confidence there after not having played well very much over the last two years, so part of it is I just need to get that built back up.”
All of the focus on his full swing has taken time away from practicing his putting. Fowler ranked No. 130 in Strokes Gained: Putting this season, a far cry from 2019 when he ranked 13th or 2017 when he ranked first.
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“That’s been something I’ve been able to rely on throughout my career and growing up is, I’ve always been a really good putter,” Fowler said. “Yeah, over the last couple years I haven’t been able to rely on that.”
Bubba Watson, one of Fowler’s good friends, said the media is making too big of a deal out of Fowler’s slump. He, for one, expects Fowler to bounce back soon.
“Rickie got married, he’s adjusting to marriage, now he’s about to have a kid and he went through a swing change and working out differently, I don’t have any concerns with where he’s at,” Watson said. “Rickie is a talented guy and he’s very successful off the course. So, I’m not worried about Rickie. He’s in a good spot. I’ve seen signs of him getting better. You’ve got to look at what’s going on in their life. There is always something that’s causing somebody mentally not to be here on the course — positive or negative — but in Rickie’s case it’s all positive.”
On the bright side, Fowler is still fully exempt for the 2021-22 season and so he can flip the page and won’t have to wait too long to start fresh. The new season begins on Sept. 16 at the Fortinet Championship in Napa, California.
“It’s a little kick in the butt,” Fowler said of missing the playoffs.Go take care of some good work over the next few weeks and get ready to get back after it.”
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