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Rickie Fowler’s Short Game Shines In Honda Classic Win

By Yash Padhye

Feb 27, 2016; Palm Beach Gardens, FL, USA; Rickie Fowler waits to tee off on the 14th hole during the third round of the Honda Classic. at PGA National (Champion). Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 27, 2016; Palm Beach Gardens, FL, USA; Rickie Fowler waits to tee off on the 14th hole during the third round of the Honda Classic. at PGA National (Champion). Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports /
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Rickie Fowler is back in the winners circle after his victory at the Honda Classic on Sunday. With a final round 71 Fowler finished the tournament at 12 under par.

He struggled throughout this week and a lot on the front nine during the final round. Fowler’s putting is what helped him seal the victory.

Fowler’s win signifies his fourth win on the PGA Tour and his first since September of 2015 when he won the Deutsche Bank Championship during the PGA Tour Playoffs.

This was a tournament that we expected to see Tiger Woods at. But with no Woods at tournaments these days, it has allowed players like Fowler to shine.

Currently, Fowler sits at number 14 on the Official World Golf Rankings. So far this year, Fowler has had one top-10 finish coming at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. And we can’t forget about Augusta. The Masters is now officially a little over one month away.

This win and the consistency of Fowler’s putting could help propel him to a big finish at the Masters. If Fowler is able to maintain his consistency with his short game, he will be in for a treat when it comes to April. There is some tough love that the course shows from time to time. Last year Fowler failed to make the cut.

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In 2015, he posted a top-20 finish at the masters with a tie for 12th. The greens on the Masters course are fast and unpredictable at times, but if Fowler keeps putting the way he has been the last two tournaments, he will be fine. The Honda Classic win also would help Fowler on the mental side of things as well.

Winning for the first time on tour since 2015 should give him a boost of confidence. Especially the fact that he won the Florida event by a four-stroke margin. The next closest guys to him were Gary Woodland and Morgan Hoffman who both shot eight under par.

Fowler has maintained that his main focus and aim is always on the Majors. He told Alistair Tait of Golfweek, ” The majors, for me, that’s probably the No. 1 goal.”

Fowler has said that his key to having success during the majors is to sit down with his agent and build his schedule so that he is able to play the tournaments leading up to the week of a specific major. He also told Alistair Tait of Golfweek that, “Something that we’ve seen that’s helped is playing the weeks before leading up.”

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So while Fowler enjoys his first win in 17 months, he knows that Augusta is only a little over a month away and with the way he’s been playing lately, it wouldn’t be a surprise if you saw him with a green jacket come Sunday, April 9, 2017.

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