NORTON, Mass. — The fall has been even steeper than the climb for Rickie Fowler.
The reigning Deutsche Bank Championship winner had a 2015 to remember, as he came from behind to win the second leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs and The Players Championship. But Fowler’s 2016 season mostly has been one to forget, as he has gone winless and missed the cut at five events, including The Masters, The Players and the U.S. Open.
It seemed unimaginable when he dazzled the TPC Boston crowd last year that Fowler would be in danger of missing the 2016 Ryder Cup, but that very well could happen after he let a shot at automatically qualifying slip away at The Barclays. Now the pressure is on him to impress captain Davis Love III to pick him with one of his four remaining selections.
But let’s be real — we’re talking about the Ryder Cup, so that pressure always is there.
“I don’t think I need any extra motivation when the thought of the Ryder Cup’s there,” Fowler said Thursday at TPC Boston. “That’s the No. 1 priority is to be there. Yeah, it would have been nice to seal that deal last week, but (I’m) very confident with where the game’s at and that we can, you know, put some good golf together and make sure that Davis gives us a pick. But all I can do is take care of my business out here.”
The good news for Fowler is he’s back at a golf course filled with good memories for him.
Coming from behind to win a golf tournament on the final day is difficult — Tiger Woods never has done it at a major in his career — but Fowler overcame a two-shot deficit with just five holes to play last Labor Day Weekend. Sure, Henrik Stenson’s water ball on the par-3 16th helped Fowler’s cause, but the two golfers likely would have been headed for a playoff if Fowler didn’t make a 40-foot putt on the 14th hole.
“I always though it was a fun golf course to play,” Fowler said. “… I hadn’t really put together a good tournament here until last year. I had a couple good rounds but never four that put me in position to win. That’s, I guess, in a way changed my confidence at this golf course and my outlook at playing here. Before I think it was find of finishing mid-20s, nothing special, and coming here now after the way I played last year, of course especially with how my game’s been, I know I can put myself in contention and have a chance to win this week.”
And a win could be just what the doctor ordered for the struggling Fowler as he tries to make the Ryder Cup.
Thumbnail photo via Mark Konezny/USA TODAY Sports Images
