Rickie Fowler

ELIGIBILITY: The first 50 players on the OWGR for Week 21, 2024.]

Fowler got his start in golf as a kid. His grandfather, Yutaka, spent every Wednesday with his grandson and would take him to a driving range so that Rickie could whack away. His dad used to deliver the sand and gravel for the parking lot in exchange for Rickie hitting balls. Rickie's passion for golf began at the Murrieta Valley Golf Range. 30 years later, in 2023, Fowler became the owner of the range where he first started hitting golf balls. Fowler also had another passion as a kid, and that was dirt bike racing with his father, Rod. Rickie gave up the sport after an accident before his freshman year in high school, resulting in a few broken bones in his foot. His passion for golf took root when he was 3, and it's still growing. For example, at the 2007 Walker Cup in Northern Ireland, he posted a 3-1 record as the youngest player on the winning USA team. At the 2009 Walker Cup, he went unbeaten in four matches, leading the USA to victory at Merion Golf Club.
He made the USA Ryder Cup Team as a rookie in 2010 and finished second twice that season.
Fowler enjoyed a successful career at Oklahoma State and typically wore all orange on Sundays as a tribute to his alma mater. He has played on four Ryder Cup Teams (2010, '14, '16, and '18) and the Presidents Cup Teams in 2015, 2017, and 2019.
2009 Notes: As an amateur, Fowler lost in a playoff to Derek Lamely at the Korn Ferry Tour's Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational. Fowler turned professional at the Albertsons Boise Open. In his first PGA Tour start as a professional, he finished T-7th at the Justin Timberlake. The next week, he lost in a playoff to Troy Matteson at the Frys.com Open. He finished T-15th at PGA Tour Qualifying School, earning his card for 2010.
2010 Notes: Fowler enjoyed a stellar rookie season, with seven top-10 finishes, two runner-up finishes, and a 32nd-place rank in the FedExCup standings, securing PGA Tour Rookie of the Year honors.
2011 Notes: Fowler won his first tournament as a professional, the Kolon Korea Open on the OneAsia Tour, when he rolled to a six-stroke victory over Rory McIlroy in October. He enjoyed his best finish at a major with a T-5th at the British Open at Royal St. George's and finished T-2nd at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
2012 Notes: During May, he finished T-10th at Zurich, made a birdie on the first extra hole to defeat Rory McIlroy and D.A. Points at the Wells Fargo Championship, his first PGA Tour win, finished T-2nd at The Players Championship, and finished T-5th at Colonial. He was named May Player of the Month. Fowler played all four FedExCup playoff events, finishing 28th, and was ranked 21st on the PGA Tour money list with earnings of $3,066,293.
2013 Notes: Earned a T-6th result in a Monday-start, Tuesday-finish event, the season-opening, 54-hole Hyundai Tournament of Champions. With the first round canceled on Friday and Saturday, and as the first player off the tee, he hit three "opening" shots of the season. Three weeks later, he followed a first-round, five-over-par 77 with a second-round seven-under-par 65 at the Farmers Insurance Open, claiming a T-6th finish. His 77 was the highest first-round score of any player to make the 36-hole cut. Fowler finished T-3rd at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, his best finish of the year, while playing in the final group with eventual champion Tiger Woods. He shot a final-round 73 to finish five shots behind Woods. He placed T-10th at the U.S. Open for his second major championship career top-10 result (T-5th at the 2011 British Open). Fowler finished the year 38th in the FedExCup race and 40th on the money list.
2014 Notes: Lost in the semifinals to the eventual winner, Jason Day, at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, 3 & 2, but took 3rd place with a 19-hole win over Ernie Els. He also finished 6th at the Shell Houston Open and T-5th at the Masters, shooting a final-round 73. He was runner-up at the U.S. Open and finished T-2nd at the British Open. His work with Butch Harmon had improved his play in the majors, resulting in top-5 finishes in each event in 2014. He was the first player to achieve the feat since Tiger Woods in 2005. Fowler played in all four FedExCup playoffs, finishing in the top 10 in three of them. His best finish was T-4th at the BMW Championship. He finished 9th in the FedExCup standings and 8th on the money list. Fowler went 0-2-3 in his five matches in the Ryder Cup as the U.S. lost to Europe.
2015 Notes: Fowler started the year with a T-3rd at the WGC-HSBC Champions and finished T-6th the following month at the Hero World Challenge. To date, he had his most significant moment in golf, defeating Kevin Kisner and Sergio Garcia in a three-hole playoff at The Players Championship. Two months later, he shot 66-68 on the weekend to win the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, birdieing the 72nd hole to edge Matt Kuchar by a stroke. After finishing T-30th at the British Open, he was 2nd at Quicken Loans, three behind winner Troy Merritt, then T-10th at the WGC-Bridgestone. Won the Deutsche Bank Championship by a stroke over Henrik Stenson and finished T-4th at the BMW Championship and T-12th at the Tour Championship. He ended the year 4th in the FedExCup standings and on the money list. He played for the first time in the Presidents Cup, where he went 1-3-0.
2016 Notes: Despite battling a head cold during the final round of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, Fowler closed with a six-under-par 67 to finish 5th, 10 shots behind Jordan Spieth. Two weeks later, he held off final-round charges from Thomas Pieters, Rory McIlroy, and Henrik Stenson to win the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, his second European Tour title. After another two weeks, he shot a final-round 67 to force a sudden-death playoff with Hideki Matsuyama. Fowler found the water hazard off the tee at the fourth extra hole, and Matsuyama won with a par. In his next start, Fowler finished T-6th at the Honda Classic, and a week later, T-8th at the WGC-Cadillac. His next top-10 result was a T-10th at the Shell Houston Open, but at the Masters, he missed the cut. At the Wells Fargo Championship, he led by one shot going into the final round but carded a 74 and finished T-4th. He missed the cut the following week in his title defense at The Players. Was T-10th at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. His eighth and final top-10 of the year came with a T-7th performance at The Barclays. He was 22nd in the FedExCup standings going into the BMW Championship. He finished 59th, with a bogey at the 71st hole (17) that cost him a trip to the Tour Championship. He dropped to 31st in the FedExCup standings, missing the 30th spot by a half-point. He represented the United States at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, finishing T-37th in the 60-player field. In his third Ryder Cup appearance, he went 2-1 in his three matches in the United States' 17-11 victory over Europe at Hazeltine. He capped the week with a 1-up singles victory over Olympic gold medalist Justin Rose. In late November, he finished T-2nd at the ISPS Handa World Cup of Golf with Jimmy Walker at Kingston Heath Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia.
2017 Notes: Started the year shooting a first-round 65 and earning a T-6th result at the WGC-HSBC Champions. He finished T-3rd at the Hero World Challenge and T-4th at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. He entered the final round of the Honda Classic with a four-stroke lead. Despite bogeys at the 71st and 72nd holes, he shot 71 to win the tournament by four. It was his first win since the 2015 Deutsche Bank Championship. At the Shell Houston Open, finished T-3rd, four strokes behind winner Russell Henley. He was T-11th at the Masters and runner-up at The Memorial, finishing three strokes behind winner Jason Dufner. Shot a first-round 65 to lead at the U.S. Open, followed by rounds of 73-68-72 to finish T-5th. At the Quicken Loans National, he shot 68-65 on the weekend to move up the leaderboard and finish T-3rd. In Europe, he finished T-9th at the Scottish Open. He ended the WGC-Bridgestone with rounds of 67-66 to shoot up the leaderboard and finish 9th. His first two rounds were in contention at the PGA Championship the following week, but he dropped back with a 73. Shot 67 in the final round to finish T-5th. He played well in the FedExCup playoffs, finishing T-2nd at the BMW Championship, four behind winner Marc Leishman. He finished 7th in the FedExCup standings, the third of the last four years that he had finished inside the top 10 in the final standings. He played in his second consecutive Presidents Cup with a 3-0-1 record.
2018 Notes: Played 20 PGA Tour events, making 17 cuts with six top-10 finishes. It was 17th in the FedExCup standings. He started his year with a runner-up finish at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba. He birdied two of his last three holes to finish one stroke behind Patton Kizzire. In his next start at the Hero World Challenge, he started the final round seven shots back and, with a personal best 11-under-par 61 (also a tournament record), won the event by four strokes over Charley Hoffman. For the week, he made 30 birdies, a personal best. In his next start at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, Fowler finished T-4th, four strokes behind winner Dustin Johnson. After that, he missed the cut at the Farmers and Honda. At the Waste Management Phoenix Open, he started the final round just one shot back, but with a closing round of 73, finished T-11th, six strokes behind winner Gary Woodland. Took 2nd place at the Masters, one stroke behind Patrick Reed, for his best result at the tournament. Fowler recorded four par-or-better rounds for the first time in eight starts at Augusta National (70-72-65-67). Earned his third runner-up in a major (2nd/2018 Masters Tournament, T-2nd/2014 British Open, T-2nd/2014 U.S. Open) and third top-five in the last five majors (2nd/2018 Masters Tournament, T-5th/2017 British Open, T-5th/2017 U.S. Open). Was T-8th at The Memorial and T-6th at the Aberdeen Standard Scottish Open. In the FedExCup playoffs, he finished T-8th at the BMW Championship and T-7th at the Tour Championship. In his fourth Ryder Cup appearance, he went 1-3-0, losing his singles match with Sergio Garcia, 2 & 1.
2019 Notes: Played in 20 PGA Tour events, making 18 cuts with six top-10 finishes. In his first start of the season was T-4th at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. He was T-5th in his title defense at the Hero World Challenge. A month after turning 30, he won the Waste Management Phoenix Open, securing his fifth PGA Tour title. They began the final round with a four-stroke lead and had a double bogey and triple bogey before rallying to win. At the Honda Classic, he finished runner-up for the 14th time in his career, a stroke behind winner Keith Mitchell. At the Masters, he shot 68-69 over the weekend to finish T-9th, three strokes behind the winner Tiger Woods. In his next start at the Wells Fargo Championship, he finished T-4th. Despite a final-round 74, Fowler finished T-6th at the British Open. In the FedEx Cup playoffs, he missed the cut at the Northern Trust, was T-11th at the BMW Championship, and T-19th at the Tour Championship. He finished the year 19th in the FedExCup standings. They played in four matches at the Presidents Cup. He halved his singles match with Marc Leishman and finished with one win and three halves. On October 5th, 2019, Fowler married Allison Stokke in a ceremony on a beach in Mexico.
2020 Notes: Played in 14 PGA Tour events, making eight cuts with two top-20 finishes. He was ranked 94th in the FedExCup standings. They got off to a good start with a T-5th at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, then a T-10th at The American Express. During the break, he switched to a new set of irons, but after missing the cut at the Charles Schwab and RBC Heritage, he changed back to his seven-year-old irons and finished T-12th at the Rocket Mortgage. In the FedExCup playoffs, he placed T-49th at the Northern Trust.
2021 Notes: Played in 24 PGA Tour events, making 15 cuts with one top-ten finish. Ranked 134th in the FedExCup standings, it was the first time since joining the PGA Tour in 2010 that he finished outside the top 100. He was T-8th at the PGA Championship, his first top-ten finish since his T-10th at the 2020 American Express 15 months previously. He was T-11th at the Memorial. On November 18th, Rickie and his wife, Allison, celebrated the birth of their first child, Maya.
2022 Notes: Played in 22 PGA Tour events, making 13 cuts with one top-ten finish, ending the year 133rd in the FedExCup rankings. He entered the final round of The CJ Cup @ Summit with a two-shot lead before shooting 71 in the final round, finishing T-3rd. It was his best result on the PGA Tour since he was a runner-up at The Honda Classic in 2019. Fell to 2-for-8 with the 54-hole lead/co-lead on the PGA Tour. For the second year in a row didn't make it into the FedExCup playoffs. Fowler returned to working with Butch Harman, his son Butch and Craig Harman. Between them, Fowler says they have helped improve his swing, saying it's been a mix of in-person sessions and video analysis.
2023 Notes: Played in 26 PGA Tour events, making 24 cuts with eight top-ten finishes, ending the year 16th in the FedExCup rankings. Off the bat got good results with a T-6th finish at the Fortinet Championship. At the Zozo Championship in Japan, he held at least a share of the lead after the second and third rounds before finishing T-2nd, his best result on the PGA Tour since his runner-up at the 2019 Honda Classic. While Fowler continues to tweak his swing, he admitted that it's still a work in progress, saying he continues sending Butch videos to assess. Between the Zozo and the Wells Fargo, he had made 12 straight cuts, and including the Zozo, he has been in the top 25 nine times, his best finish being T-10th at the WM Phoenix Open and Valero Texas Open. The cut streak ended at 12 at the PGA Championship. At the Charles Schwab Challenge, finished T-6th, three shots back of Emiliano Grillo/Adam Schenk. His next start was T-9th at the Memorial. At the U.S. Open shot a first-round 62 (lowest round in U.S. Open history) and held at least a share of the lead after each of the first three rounds before finishing T-5th, his best result in a major championship since finishing runner-up at the 2018 Masters Tournament. Became the second player to record a 62 or better in a major (first since Branden Grace at the 2017 Open Championship), a feat that was matched by Xander Schauffele later that day. The next week was T-13th at the Travelers Championship. Got his first victory since the 2019 WM Phoenix Open at the Rocket Mortgage. He beat Collin Morikawa and Adam Hadwin with a birdie on the first playoff hole. The win came in Rickie's 316th PGA Tour starts at the age of 34 years, 6 months, 19 days. Fowler broke a drought in which he went 96 starts over 4 years, 4 months, and 29 days between the 2019 Phoenix victory and his win at the Rocket Mortgage. His excellent play has resulted in a big jump in the Official World Golf Rankings. After missing the cut at the Shriners Children's Open in October of 2022, he ranked 160th. After his Rocket Mortgage win, he climbed to 23rd in the rankings. In the FedExCup playoffs was T-58th at the FedEx St. Jude, T-25th at the BMW Championship and T-16th at the Tour Championship. He played in the Ryder Cup for the fifth time, was sick during the week, and lost both of his matches.
2024 Notes: T-18th at the RBC Heritage.