2014 Report Cards: Rickie Fowler Getting Closer

By Les Bailey | Oct 5, 2014

Sep 24, 2014; Auchterarder, Perthshire, SCT; USA player Rickie Fowler speaks at a press conference during practice for the 2014 Ryder Cup at The Gleneagles Hotel-PGA Centenary Course. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Even though the 25 year-old Rickie Fowler wasn’t able to visit the winners circle in 2014, he had arguably the best season in his short career. Actually, with the changes his coach, Butch Harmon has made with his swing, and game, the success came in the latter half of the season. In my opinion, Rickie Fowler was the best player on the planet since June who did not lift a trophy on Sunday afternoon.

Ranked 10th in Official World Golf Rankings(OWGR), Fowler had a dismal spring where all seven of his missed cuts in 2014 came. The last was on June first when he didn’t make the weekend at The Memorial. He got close at Dove Mountain, logging a T3 in the WGC Match Play event in Arizona.

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A solo sixth place finish at the St Jude Classic, and a respectful T 5 at Augusta would set the tone for the summer, and the major season where Rickie finished all four events in the top five with second places at the Opens, and a T3 at Valhalla. It took a few months for the Harmon method to kick in, but when it did, he was able to get close.

An errant tee shot on the 16th hole at the PGA Championship didn’t take him out of contention for the Wanamaker Trophy, but after Rory McIlroy woke up on tenth hole, it put Fowler in the catch-up mode. The impending darkness, and approaching weather at Valhalla, in my opinion, may have cost Phil Mickelson, and Rickie Fowler a chance to get a win.

Rickie Fowler ended the PGA Tour season with a nice run at The FedEx Cup championship with top tens in three of the four playoff tournaments. He finished T 23 at The Deutsche Bank, and ninth in the final standings.

The early half of the season hurt his 70.178 scoring average for the year, but he ended the season with a 297.5 yard average off the tee, and hit fairways at a 59% clip. His 64% Greens In Regulation, and 62% scrambling numbers, which were good for 17th on the tour were an improvement on his 2013 numbers.

Strokes Gained Putting were at .215 and were good for 37th place among his peers. Fowler can, like most golfers, run hot and cold with the putter. I think he was only a couple of near-miss putts away from putting a few tournaments away.

Like Sergio Garcia, however, Rickie has those occasional errant drives during a tournament that end in double bogey or worse, that either takes him off the leaderboard, or out of contention for a win.

With only one win on his resume, Rickie Fowler really needs to get some regular season wins, and he could very well be the young Super-star American golf needs.

Paired with Jimmy Walker during the Ryder Cup, Fowler played well enough to get ties in three of the four team events, and a rare 5 & 4 win in Foursomes on Saturday afternoon against the Victor Dubuisson/Graeme McDowell team. Rory McIlroy absolutely took him apart in the Sunday Singles, and beat him 5 & 4.

With half of the 2014 season being a disaster, but terrific finishes in the majors, I am going to give Rickie Fowler a solid B on his season. I was concerned with his attitude in the McIlroy beat down at Gleneagles, but after reading reports from the Saturday team meeting, I’m not sure that was all his fault, and not letting it affect my grading.

The 2015 season will define Rickie’s career, and legacy on the PGA Tour.