Can Rickie Fowler Return to Form in 2017?
In terms of golf, the 2016 calendar wasn’t all that good to Rickie Fowler but can he turn it around in 2017?
During the summer months leading up the year’s final major, the PGA Championship, I wrote of Rickie Fowler’s struggles on his journey to capturing his first major championship win. As the 2016 calendar year comes to a close tonight, Fowler is not only still looking for his major championship win but also anything that can get his golf fortunes turned around.
Fowler got off to a good start at the beginning of 2016 as he finished well in two January tournaments. He started his year playing in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions tournament in Maui, Hawaii. Despite not getting the win, it was certainly a good start to the year as he finished in fifth place. Winner Jordan Spieth played exceptional golf making it more impressive that Fowler was able to keep pace and finish near the top of the leaderboard.
Just a few weeks later, Fowler was back in action, this time on the European Tour. On the third week of January, he played in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship and again finished near the top of the leaderboard. This time, Fowler finished on the top. His 16-under tournament score was good enough fend off some of the world’s best golfers as Henrik Stenson, Rory McIlroy, and Jordan Spieth all finished behind him.
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Similar to the previous month, the first week of February brought more good fortunes for Fowler. He ended up being locked into a playoff battle with Hideki Matsuyama at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The Super Bowl Sunday duel was must watch golf that recently made my top moments of the season countdown. It was great for golf fans all over, however for Fowler, it wasn’t. He became the first one to blink on the fourth playoff hole as a shot in the water hazard cost him the win. The loss hit Fowler hard as he fought back the tears in the post tournament press conference, citing the disappointment of a loss in front of friends and family who made the trip to the tournament.
Whether the disappointing loss was to blame for the rest of the season is yet to be known but it didn’t go well.
Fowler managed just one top five finish the entire rest of the season as he finished in fourth place at the Wells Fargo Championship. Additionally, he missed the cut at two of the year’s four majors. Fowler was gone before the weekend at both the Masters and the U.S. Open and finished outside of the top 30 in the Open Championship and the PGA Championship.
With the 2016-17 PGA Tour season already underway, Fowler has played in three different events, two unofficial. He finished in a tie for sixth place at the WGC HSBC Champions, the only official PGA Tour event of the three.
Additionally, Fowler teamed up with Jimmy Walker at the ISPS Handa World Cup of Golf and managed a finish in a tie for second. Finally, he was in the field at Tiger Woods’ tournament, the Hero World Challenge, and finished in a tie for third.
With three solid finishes so far this PGA Tour season, Fowler should have the confidence to turn his fortunes around when he hits the course in 2017.
Next: Top-5 Moments of 2015-16 PGA Tour Season: #1. The Open Championship
What are your expectations for Rickie Fowler in 2017? Let us know in the comments below!