By all accounts, Rickie Fowler's 2024 has been a disaster inside the ropes. But after just five rounds in the FedEx Cup Fall, the five-time PGA Tour winner is looking much more like his usual self. Having posted career lows in terms of top-10 finishes, total strokes gained and strokes gained off the tee in the regular season, Fowler is beginning to find his game with an opening round of 5-under 66 at the 2024 Shriners Children's Open serving as the latest evidence of another possible resurgence.
Fowler's performance was enough to position himself inside the top 10 on the leaderboard, albeit five strokes behind playing competitor Taylor Pendrith, who nearly added his name to the sub-60 club but instead settled for a 10-under 61.
Fowler finished outside the top 100 in the FedEx Cup standings and missed the entirety of the postseason following a year where he contended in major championships, reentered the winner's circle for the first time in four years and participated on the U.S. Ryder Cup team. His downfall in 2024 was just as surprising as the upswing of his 2023 -- especially when elevated FedEx Cup points at signature events are factored into the equation.
As a result, Fowler has turned to the fall as an opportunity to play himself back into form ahead of the 2025 regular season. While he may not play himself into signature events -- where the top 30 in the Official World Golf Rankings and top 50 in the FedEx Cup qualify -- his name is likely to illicit sponsors' exemptions into such events.
Those opportunities are more likely to come if he continues the quality he has shown his last five rounds. After posting four rounds in the 60s at the Sanderson Farms Championship, marking only the second time he had done that in a tournament all year, Fowler was at it again at TPC Summerlin on Thursday.
The 35-year-old was nearly flawless from tee to green as he hit 14 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens in regulation. He went around the par 71 without a dropped shot and has room to improve as he searches for a sense of comfort on the greens with a new LAB putter in hand; Fowler missed four birdie chances inside 10 feet including two inside 4 feet.
While he would love for the putter to cooperate, these are all fantastic signs for Fowler. He failed to birdie three of the easiest holes on the golf course. He ranked 60th out of 74 players in the morning wave in strokes gained putting. In a year when the driver has been a notable shortcoming, he led the field in strokes gained off the tee.Â
Similar to two falls ago, Fowler is beginning the see all phases of his game more clearly. All that remains is for him to piece them all together again.
