Arnold Palmer Invitational: Power ranking the top 10 at Bay Hill

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ORLANDO, FL – MARCH 16: Rickie Fowler lines up a putt on the 17th hole during the second round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented By MasterCard at Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 16, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

We all thought Rickie Fowler was destined to go to a playoff with Keith Mitchell and Brooks Koepka on Sunday at the Honda Classic, but the underdog Mitchell’s clutch putt on the last put an end to that.

Nonetheless, it doesn’t take away from how well Fowler’s been playing. The 30-year-old was a winner last month at the Phoenix Open and posted T2 last week near his home of Jupiter at the Honda Classic.

He’s now 4-for-4 in cuts made in 2019.

This will be Fowler’s third week playing in a row which is not out of the norm for most Tour pros. For him it is, though, as he hasn’t done so since 2017. That instance worked out alright as he finished T5 at the U.S. Open after playing the two weeks prior.

At the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Fowler is 6-for-7 in cuts made with a T3 in 2013 (73-67-67-73) the high water mark. His last appearance was a T14 in 2018 (67-71-70-74).

This season on Tour, Fowler is eighth in strokes gained putting. That was certainly the club he rode to victory at TPC Scottsdale. He’s 12th in overall SG thanks to above-average SG numbers across the board including 41st off the tee. It is possible to gain an advantage by picking spots to smash driver at Bay Hill and by now, Fowler should know where to attack.

He’s fifth in birdie average and 41st on the par-5s.

Fowler is a native Californian but has done well historically on the Florida Swing. He won the 2015 PLAYERS Championship and 2017 Honda Classic.

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