It’s been a while since Rickie Fowler played the John Deere Classic. Fifteen years, in fact. And he's using this week as his warm-up for The Open Championship, opting not to tee it up in next week's Genesis Scottish Open. The question is why.
The Scottish tournament is typically a tune-up for golf's oldest tournament. But this year, not for Fowler.
“I have always played the Scottish before the British,” he said. “That was just always my schedule. This year, I felt to free up the potential of the back end of the British and playing potentially 3M and/or Greensboro.”
He said he has kept up with what’s happening at the John Deere over the years with Jordan Spieth, Zach Johnson, and Steve Stricker. And now having two children, there are things at the Illinois event that are family-friendly. He’s especially looking forward to the Big Dig, which is where families get to sit on and drive or scoop with the huge John Deere machinery.
“Our three-and-a-half-year-old, Maya, I am not sure if she fully understands it, but she'll be pretty excited there tonight,” Fowler added about the unusual and spectacular family-friendly experience.
In addition to liking the environment, Fowler also needs some more FedEx Cup points. He’s currently in 72nd place on the list, which has become increasingly important over the last few years. A 70th-place finish for the season will enable him to retain his PGA Tour card for next season, and he won’t need any special exemptions for 2026.
Fowler has proven to be such a popular player that he can get exemptions from just about every regular PGA Tour tournament if he requests one. Some Signature Events that have sponsor exemptions, like the Truist and the Travelers, want to have a guy like Fowler around for four days because they know he treats the fans the right way.
He’s polite. He signs autographs for the kids. He smiles at people and appreciates that the fans come out to see him and says so.
In an unusual move, Fowler also offered up some opinions on the changes coming up in 2026.
“There’s more guys struggling to get into some events,” he said. “The normal events seem to be getting a little bit stronger field just with guys playing maybe a little bit more and where things fit in the schedule. And then it's tough. I think it has forced guys to maybe play some more.”
He thinks going to 100 PGA Tour cards is the right direction.
“We all want the PGA Tour to be the most elite tour there is out here,” he added.
As far as his stature as a fan favorite, he knows he has been fortunate in that regard.
“It was special to be able to kind of, I guess, earn that early on,” he noted. “Obviously playing well and having that younger following and the kids gravitating towards me. Can't plan that, but special to be in that position where kids looked up to me and being able to be that person for them.”
He said it’s actually been a help to see fans wearing a Puma hat or kids dressed up like Rickie Fowler during the times when his game hasn’t been at its best. He said it helps put things in proper perspective.
“It would be nice to play well all the time, but that's not everything,” he said. “But to have that support can help get through some of those tough days.”
Inside info: Fowler has a new driver this season, the Cobra Adapt. According to Jose Miraflor, Cobra’s VP of Marketing, Fowler’s driver settings are in the F2-F3 range of the club’s FutureFit 33 chart. That’s because he’s looking for a ball flight that’s headed toward the B6-B7 range of the chart. You can hear Miraflor explain their system and Fowler and Max Homa’s settings in my interview with him for The Golf Show 2.0 HERE.