For greater than 4 years he went with no win. All of that got here to an finish on the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Basic when he clinched his sixth PGA Tour victory. Rickie Fowler crossed his arms over his membership, seemed up with a smile, and raised his putter to a flock of enthusiastic followers. Little did he know again then that he wouldn’t have the ability to defend his title the next yr. However now, the principle query is whether or not he’s prepared the loss behind him to gear up for the following occasion on the 2024 calendar.
The John Deere Basic will kick off on July 4, Thursday with a complete of 156 golfers. Fowler’s identify, nevertheless, isn’t a part of the sphere, as per the official record. The golfer, thus, is not going to be enjoying on the upcoming occasion that’s set to happen at TPC Deere Run.
USA Right this moment by way of Reuters
Jun 13, 2024; Pinehurst, North Carolina, USA; Rickie Fowler performs his shot from the second tee field throughout the first spherical of the U.S. Open golf event. Necessary Credit score: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports activities
Coming again to the Rocket Mortgage Basic, the previous Oklahoma State Cowboy didn’t defend his title as he completed with a rating of 9-under 279. He positioned himself tied at T31 with 12 golfers together with the likes of Jake Knapp, Ryo Hisatsune, and Beau Hossler, amongst others. The end may solely card him a complete of 1.55917, inflicting him to fall down in rankings on the OWGR, from No. 50 to No. 52.
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This stays a stark distinction to the athlete’s 2023 efficiency the place he scored a 24-under total to tie with Adam Hadwin and Collin Morikawa. He received by carding a birdie on the par-4, 18th playoff gap. The ultimate shot elevated his complete variety of birdies within the event to 27, alongside 5 bogeys and 1 eagle.
This, once more, reveals an excessive amount of of a pointy distinction from Fowler’s efficiency within the 2024 version. The golfer may solely dish out a complete of 18 birdies, together with 9 bogeys over the 4 days of play. The show of golf, coupled along with his different finishes this season, has pushed the 35-year-old out of the highest 70 of the FedEx Cup standings.
Rickie Fowler’s precarious place on the FedEx Cup standings
The 6-time PGA Tour champ is presently positioned on the 93rd place on the FedEx Cup standings. From the 18 occasions he performed this season, Rickie Fowler has solely completed inside the highest 25 in two of them. He did so with a T20 on the Vacationers Championship and a T18 on the RBC Heritage. Out of the remainder, the golfer has sadly missed the reduce in 5 of them, together with the third main of the season, the U.S. Open.
The American professional would find yourself lacking the playoffs if he doesn’t dish out his finest within the remaining few weeks. The PGA Tour had, in 2023, modified the factors of qualification for the FedEx St. Jude Championship and restricted the athletes to the highest 70 of the standings as a substitute of 125. This spells harmful for Fowler who presently doesn’t sport the required factors.
