2021 CJ Cup: Rickie Fowler Trying to Forget Last Season

Rickie Fowler had his worst year on the PGA Tour last season. Now, he’s in position to win this week’s CJ Cup with just one round to play.

Fowler’s 2020-21 season was by far his worst since joining the tour. He played in 24 events and made 15 cuts. However, he was in the Top 25 just five times and had just one Top 10. The lone Top 10 came when Fowler finished T8 at the PGA Championship (you know, the one Phil Mickelson won).

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This season, Fowler started off in seemingly the same way. At the Shriners Children’s Open last week, he shot 72-66 to miss the cut. It appeared to be the same old Fowler.

But this week at the CJ Cup, Fowler has played his best golf in months. He shot 66 on Thursday, then 66 again on Friday to sit at 12-under par through two rounds. He was tied for sixth, six shots behind leader Keith Mitchell, through two rounds.

But on Saturday, Fowler found something. And it led him to the lead.

His round started with pars on the first and second hole. Then, Fowler got hot. He birdied the third, fourth, fifth and sixth holes to get to 4-under par on his round.

Fowler would also birdie the eighth hole and would close his first nine with a 5-under par 31. As Mitchell was coming back to the field, Fowler was surging.

On his second nine, Fowler carded birdies at the 12th, 14th, 16th and 18th holes. That gave him a 32 and, overall, a 9-under par 63. As the day ended, Fowler found himself in the lead by two shots over Rory McIlroy.

Next. 2021 Shriners Open: Winners and Losers in Las Vegas. dark

Fowler has won five times on the PGA Tour. His first came in 2012 at the Wells Fargo Championship. His biggest came when he claimed the title at the 2015 Players Championship. And his last came at the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open.

Now, he’s in position to win again. And, perhaps more importantly, he can prove that he’s no longer the Fowler of last season.

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