Rickie Fowler takes jab at new rules with hilarious drop at Honda Classic

Rickie Fowler hasn’t caught the best of the new rules of golf so far in 2019, but he took an opportunity to poke a little fun at his misfortune on Thursday at the Honda Classic.

Rickie Fowler isn’t normally the kind of guy who finds himself caught up in a bunch of drama on the golf course. Unfortunately, at least in the early part of the 2019 PGA TOUR schedule, he’s found himself wrapped up in two separate situations in which tough rulings went against him. He’s let his lack of satisfaction, to put it gently, be known more vocally as the year has gone on.

This week at the Honda Classic isn’t shaping up to be any different for Fowler. The 30-year-old superstar has made very clear his position on the new drop rule, particularly after he caught a one-shot penalty for dropping from shoulder height (instead of knee height, that scoundrel) last week at the WGC-Mexico Championship.

Fowler, who was fortunate not to be disqualified (perhaps even suspended!) for such a flagrant thumbing of his nose at the two-month-old rule, has called for common sense to win out, and for that rule to be changed. While the USGA and R&A, golf’s two primary governing bodies, are likely pondering that at this very moment, Fowler didn’t miss his opportunity to continue the campaign on Thursday, in a particularly demonstrative way.

Needing to take a drop in the fairway, Fowler made sure to reach out to the rules official following his group for clarity on just how he was to proceed with such a precarious situation. Not wanting to leave anything to chance – or maybe just showing us what he thinks of the rule itself – Fowler assumed a position with the ball as if he were…well, let’s just say his message was received loud and clear.

Okay, in all seriousness, good on Rickie for making his point in a lighthearted fashion and moving on with his drop. I’m sure there will be plenty of people clutching pearls and talking about how “Rickie Fowler is disrespecting the game”. But those same people are forgetting that that’s exactly what golf is – a game.

Sure, it’s a game these guys play for millions of dollars (potentially) every week, but it’s a game. It’s supposed to be simple, and it’s supposed to be fun. This overly specific drop rule accomplishes neither of those things.

So good on you, Rickie. You’re number one in my book, even if that rule is…well, you get the point.