Rickie Fowler’s next step should he make API cut? ‘Play like hell’

[ad_1]

ORLANDO, Fla. – Rickie Fowler might still be grinding on his swing, but he’s at least got a chance of sticking around for the weekend thanks to a late rally Friday at Bay Hill.

After yanking a drive well into the lake on the third hole and making double to drop to 5 over, Fowler responded with three straight birdies, at Nos. 4-6, and parred his final three holes of the day to shoot 2-under 70. In the clubhouse at 2 over, Fowler was right on the projected cut line when he finished, meaning he’ll have to wait and see if he can finish among the top 65 and ties.

“I’m happy with it,” said Fowler, who has missed just one cut in nine previous starts at the Arnold Palmer Invitational but also has gone more than a year without a top-10 finish. He’s changed coaches, dropping Butch Harmon and linking up with John Tillery last November. He played five straight weeks on the West Coast, the first time he’s done that since his rookie year, with two missed cuts and a best finish of T-20 two weeks ago at Riviera.

Fowler said Friday that he’s starting to “see the light at the end of the tunnel,” but the journey to this point has been a fight.


Arnold Palmer Invitational: Full-field scores | Full coverage


“If we look back on this in a couple years and I’ve gone on to win a handful of tournaments and I’m in a good spot to be like, you know, ‘Was it worth it?’ Yeah,” Fowler said. “We all go through changes to ultimately come out in a better spot than we were before, so that’s why we’re going through this and battling through it. … I think more so it’s just a mental challenge because playing and competing against the best players in the world for a decent amount of time now and being up there is at one point in the top 10 for quite some time and being one of the top guys in the world, it’s just hard because you know what you’re capable of and where you should be or what you expect out of yourself.

“So, that’s been more of the struggle is not beating myself up too much and kind of taking a step back, let everything happen, be patient, but, yeah, it’s been frustrating at times.”

Fowler said last year’s coronavirus stoppage ended any momentum he had. When he returned, he missed three of his next five cuts beginning at Colonial. The rest of the year wasn’t great, either, as Fowler ended 2020 outside of the top 50 in the world for the first time since 2010.

However, a closing 67 at the Genesis gave Fowler his first real positive affirmation in a while, and though Thursday’s opening 76 was another step back during this swing re-tooling (Fowler missed nine greens in Round 1), he bounced back by hitting 15 greens on a day where he found only six fairways.

“It’s getting closer and closer,” Fowler said, “so see if we get a tee time tomorrow. If we do, we’ll go play like hell this weekend. If not, we’ll go get ready for our tee time next Thursday.”

[ad_2]

Source: GolfChannel

Related Posts

LPGA debuting its own behind-the-scenes documentary

Bryson DeChambeau on Dude Perfect video: ‘Times are changing’

Bryson DeChambeau on Dude Perfect – AUGUSTA, Ga. – Count Bryson DeChambeau among those who was surprised Augusta National green-lit the now viral Dude Perfect video. “Everybody was,” DeChambeau said…

Read more
LPGA debuting its own behind-the-scenes documentary

Brooks Koepka has inkling of what Tiger Woods faces in return at Augusta National

Brooks Koepka – AUGUSTA, Ga. – Brooks Koepka at least has some semblance of an idea of what Tiger Woods is facing this week at Augusta National. Last year, it…

Read more
LPGA debuting its own behind-the-scenes documentary

Fred Couples happy to be getting Tiger Woods texts again at Masters

[ad_1] AUGUSTA, Ga. – Fred Couples has become a regular practice round partner of Tiger Woods at the Masters, but as this year’s tournament approached he didn’t expect to hear…

Read more
LPGA debuting its own behind-the-scenes documentary

Collin Morikawa much better at making golf history than recalling it

[ad_1] Collin Morikawa wants to make history. Remembering it, however, is a different story. Morikawa won two majors, the PGA Championship and The Open, prior to turning 25. He’s the…

Read more
LPGA debuting its own behind-the-scenes documentary

Watch: Masters tweets video of Tiger Woods’ Sunday practice round

[ad_1] Tiger Woods arrived at Augusta National on Sunday afternoon after tweeting that competing in the 86th Masters Tournament would be a “game-time decision.” Woods, around 3:20 p.m. ET, warmed up…

Read more
LPGA debuting its own behind-the-scenes documentary

Drive, Chip and Putt recap: Bubba Watson fan Autumn Solesbee among winners

[ad_1] AUGUSTA, Ga. – Waiting for Autumn Solesbee under the iconic oak tree behind Augusta National’s clubhouse was Bubba Watson. As a former Masters champion, Watson has become a regular…

Read more

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *