Rickie Fowler believes his career is firmly back on track despite a final-round collapse that torpedoed his hopes of a first major title at the US Open recently.
And only last week, he did something that made him and his vast legion of fans believe in it more fervently.
Fowler was among the chasing pack following a superb round that saw him just miss joining the exclusive sub-60 club during the third round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Connecticut.
He had a chip from the fringe on the last hole to card a 59 — but narrowly missed becoming the 13th player in PGA Tour history to break 60.
Fowler said he was “very aware” of the possibility.
“I had a nice start to the day with a couple of good pars, made the turn at five (under), and at seven under through 11 I knew it (59) was a legitimate shot,” he said.
Fowler was still in with a chance of victory at 15 under, six shots behind eventual champion Keegan Bradley. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is 14 under after a seven-under 63.
He finished tied for 13th. Not bad.
Just a week prior, Fowler had electrified the Los Angeles Country Club in the first round, firing a sensational eight-under-par 62 — the lowest round in US Open history.
But although he started Sunday’s fourth round on top of the leaderboard, the 34-year-old’s challenge wilted in the Californian sun as he carded a five-over-par 75 in a round that included seven bogeys.
That left Fowler tied for fifth, and still searching for that elusive first major, and a first title of any kind since his last win at the Phoenix Open in 2019.
‘I had a nice start to the day with a couple of good pars, made the turn at five (under), and at seven under through 11 I knew it (59) was a legitimate shot.’
Yet Fowler was in no mood to wallow in disappointment as he reflected on a US Open campaign that ultimately fell short.
“I was just really excited on how I felt this week, how comfortable I felt to go out and back up my first round and continue to play well,” said Fowler, who failed to earn a spot in the field at the last two Opens.
“You learn from all your experiences. Not the position I wanted to be in after today, but a lot of good coming from this week.”
Once ranked fourth in the world and tipped as a multiple major winner, Fowler’s world ranking plummeted to 185th after missing 18 cuts in 28 events in 2021 and 2022.
Yet he has steadily clawed his way back into the top 50 to 45th in the global rankings, and believes there is plenty to build on for the remainder of the season.
“As much as it sucks to not be in the position I wanted to be after today, we’re just continuing to build and continuing to move forward,” Fowler said.
“Not the finish I wanted, but there’s a lot of really good things to take from this week, and we’re continuing to move forward.”
“The last 10, 12 months has been great. I’m heading the right direction, and we’re still going forward and up.”
The California-born Fowler’s disappointment was also softened by the presence of his family throughout the week. Daughter Maya was waiting for him as he came off the 18th green and headed to the scorers’ tent.
“I mean, obviously very bummed, but being able to see my daughter before scoring, it kind of takes a lot of that away,” he said.
“Because in the big scheme of things, yes, we want to win tournaments and be the one holding the trophy — but she could care less if I shoot 65 or 85.”
