Who dominated in 2018? Hint: It wasn’t Justin Rose
By Bill Felber
10. Rickie Fowler (T-17), -0.32
Missed cuts at the Farmers, Honda and Players – the latter a weighted tournament – hurt Fowler’s final standing. So did his failure to win any events; his best finish was a runner-up at the Masters, one stroke behind Patrick Reed.
But if 2018 was not a spectacular season for Fowler, it was a steady one. He had a half dozen top 10s and beat the field average in all but two events in which he completed four rounds. Fowler was competitive in the majors with three top 20s. Those plus his strong finish – eighth at the BMW and seventh at the Tour Championship – form the basis of his -0.32 rating, keeping in mind that negative scores are good.
Fowler finished the season strong, with top 20s in the final four events he played. Those included 17th at the WGC Bridgestone, 12th at the PGA Championship, 8th at the BMW and 7th at the Tour Championship.
That being the case, one wonders whether Fowler was well-served by his decision to sit out the first two Tour Championship Series events, the Northern Trust and the Dell. Had he managed top 10s in both of those events, he might have moved up a spot in the rankings…plus made another half million dollars or so.