Rick Yutaka Fowler (born December 13, 1988) is an American professional
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
er who plays on the
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...
. He was the number one
ranked amateur golfer in the world for 36 weeks in 2007 and 2008. On January 24, 2016 he reached a career high fourth in the
Official World Golf Ranking following his victory in the
Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship
The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship is a European Tour golf tournament held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. When founded in 2006, it was one of three European Tour events to be staged in the Arabian Peninsula, but at one point was one of six.
Hist ...
.
Amateur career
Fowler was born and raised in
Murrieta, California
Murrieta is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The population of Murrieta was 110,949 as of the 2020 census. Murrieta experienced a 133.7% population increase between 2000 and 2010, making Murrieta one of the ...
,
He attended
Murrieta Valley High School. For years, he played only on a driving range and is almost entirely self-taught. In his senior year in high school, Fowler won the SW League Final with a total score of 64-69=133 and led his team to the state final in 2007.
After high school, Fowler attended
Oklahoma State University
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
in
Stillwater. He posted his first collegiate victory at the Fighting Illini Invitational hosted by the
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Uni ...
on October 1, 2007, by shooting a 203 (70-63-70) to win the tournament by one stroke.
In the summer of 2005, Fowler won the
Western Junior and competed in the
U.S. Amateur, where he was defeated by the eventual champion
Richie Ramsay.
In 2006, Fowler shot a 137 for two rounds at the
U.S. Junior Amateur The United States Junior Amateur Championship is one of the fourteen U.S. national golf championships organized by the United States Golf Association. It is open to amateur boys who are under 19 on the last day of the competition and have a USGA Ha ...
and was knocked out in the second round of match play. The championship was won by
Philip Francis.
Fowler represented the United States in its victory at the
2007 Walker Cup
The 41st Walker Cup Match was played on 8 and 9 September 2007 at the Royal County Down Golf Club in Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland. Team United States won 12½ to 11½. The United States won by the same score in 2005.
Format
The form ...
. His record was 2–0 in foursomes and 1–1 in singles making his overall record 3–1.
Billy Horschel was his partner for both of their foursome victories. That year Fowler won the
Sunnehanna Amateur in June and the
Players Amateur in July.
In 2008, Fowler repeated as
Sunnehanna Amateur champion. In the first round of the
U.S. Open, Fowler shot a −1 (70) and was in a tie for 7th place. He was one of three amateurs to make the cut, along with
Derek Fathauer and
Michael Thompson. He ended the tournament tied for 60th. In October 2008 Fowler played on the
Eisenhower Trophy team that finished second. He was the leading individual player.
In 2009, Fowler made his second and last appearance in the
Walker Cup. He won all four matches in which he played as the U.S. won by a seven-point margin. His partner in both foursomes matches was
Bud Cauley. He also finished third in the
Sunnehanna Amateur in 2009.
Fowler was given the 2008
Ben Hogan Award The Ben Hogan Award is an annual prize given by Friends of Golf and the Golf Coaches Association of America, since 1990, to the best college golf player in the United States.
The Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas joined the organization i ...
.
Professional career
2009
In 2009, Fowler had the first runner-up finish of his career on the
Nationwide Tour
The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at that level. ...
in the
Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational
The Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship is a golf tournament on the Korn Ferry Tour. It was played for the first time in July 2007 at The Ohio State University Golf Club's Scarlet Course in Upper Arlington, Ohio. Jack Nicklaus, a former O ...
losing in a playoff to
Derek Lamely
Derek Lamely (born July 12, 1980) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour.
Background
Lamely was born in Belleville, Illinois. He was a member of the Texas State Championship team at Montgomery ...
.
After the Walker Cup, Fowler turned professional and played the
Albertsons Boise Open
The Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron is a professional golf tournament in Idaho on the Korn Ferry Tour, played annually at Hillcrest Country Club in Boise. Held in mid-September for its first 23 years, the new September playoff schedule ...
on the
Nationwide Tour
The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at that level. ...
for his pro debut.
In September 2009, it was announced that Fowler signed a multi-year equipment deal with
Titleist. He has since signed a deal with
Rolex.
Fowler's first
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...
event as a professional was the
Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open
Justin may refer to: People
* Justin (name), including a list of persons with the given name Justin
* Justin (historian), a Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire
* Justin I (c. 450–527), or ''Flavius Iustinius Augustus'', Eastern Rom ...
where he finished tied for seventh. His second PGA Tour event was at the
Frys.com Open played at Grayhawk Golf Club in
Scottsdale, Arizona
, settlement_type = City
, named_for = Winfield Scott
, image_skyline =
, image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg
, image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg
, nic ...
. He finished tied for second after losing to
Troy Matteson in a three-way playoff that included
Jamie Lovemark. Fowler's score of 18-under-par included a hole-in-one on the fifth hole in his final round. Fowler also notched an eagle in each of his four rounds.
In November, he finished T2 with
D. A. Points
Darren Andrew "D.A." Points (born December 1, 1976) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour.
Early years and amateur career
Born and raised in Pekin, Illinois, Points attended Pekin High School, and the University o ...
, two shots behind the winner
Mark Brooks in the
Pebble Beach Invitational an unofficial money event on the
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...
.
In December 2009, Fowler successfully gained his
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...
card for
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
through
qualifying school, finishing T15.
2010
In February
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
, Fowler finished second at the
Waste Management Phoenix Open with a score of 15-under-par at the
TPC of Scottsdale course. In June, Fowler notched his third PGA Tour runner-up finish at the
Memorial Tournament in
Dublin, Ohio. Fowler entered the final round in the lead, but shot a 73 to finish behind
Justin Rose
Justin Peter Rose, (born 30 July 1980) is an English professional golfer who plays most of his golf on the PGA Tour, while keeping his membership on the European Tour. He won his first major championship at the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion Golf C ...
, who recorded his first PGA Tour victory. This performance took Fowler into the top 50 of the
Official World Golf Ranking.
In September, he signed a clothing deal with
Puma. In the same month, he was also chosen as a captain's pick for the U.S.
Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...
team. At age 21 years and 9 months when the matches began, Fowler became the youngest U.S. Ryder Cup player of all time, and only European
Sergio García
Sergio García Fernández (; born 9 January 1980) is a Spanish professional golfer. He has played on the European Tour, PGA Tour and LIV Golf Invitational Series. García has won 36 international tournaments as a professional, most notably th ...
was younger when he made his Ryder Cup debut in 1999. Fowler forfeited a hole during foursomes competition on the first match day because of a rules violation, by taking a permissible free drop from muddy conditions in an improper location, a mistake U.S. captain
Corey Pavin
Corey Allen Pavin (born November 16, 1959) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and currently on the PGA Tour Champions. He spent over 150 weeks in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking between 1986 and 1997 a ...
attributed to Fowler's inexperience. On the final day of the competition in his singles match against
Edoardo Molinari, Fowler birdied the last 4 holes to halve the match after having been 4 down after 12 holes.
Fowler won the
Rookie of the Year award, controversially claiming the award over
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
's
Rory McIlroy
Rory Daniel McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who is a member of both the European and PGA Tours. He is the current world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, and has spent over 100 weeks in ...
.
2011
In July
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...
, Fowler tied the 54-hole lead at the
AT&T National, but an early double bogey on Sunday derailed his opportunity for his first PGA Tour win. Two weeks later Fowler finished tied for 5th in
The Open Championship
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later t ...
at
Royal St George's
The Royal St George's Golf Club located in Sandwich, Kent, England, is a golf club in the United Kingdom and one of the courses on The Open Championship rotation and is the only Open rota golf course to be located in South East England. It has ...
. In August, Fowler finished in a tie for second at the
WGC-Bridgestone Invitational behind winner
Adam Scott, lifting him to 28 in the world rankings.
At the
PGA Championship
The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...
, Fowler carded 74-69-75-68 to finish with a six-over par total of 286, in a tie for 51st place. Early on the third day Fowler rocketed up the leaderboard with three birdies in the first five holes only to falter later in the round with two triple bogeys, effectively ending his hopes of a first major championship and PGA Tour win.
At the first
FedEx Cup
The FedEx Cup is a championship trophy for the PGA Tour. Its introduction marked the first time that men's professional golf had a playoff system. Announced in November 2005, it was first awarded in 2007. Rory McIlroy is the 2022 champion. ...
playoff event, Fowler finished T52 at
The Barclays in the last week in August. The following week he again finished T52 at the
Deutsche Bank Championship, the second FedEx Cup playoff event, after carding a disappointing six-over par final round 77. At that point Fowler was positioned 37 in the FedEx Cup points standings and required a strong performance at the
BMW Championship to qualify in the top thirty for
The Tour Championship
The Tour Championship (stylized as the TOUR Championship) is a golf tournament that is part of the PGA Tour. It has historically been one of the final events of the PGA Tour season; prior to 2007, its field consisted exclusively of the top 30 ...
; a performance which eluded him, finishing in 48th place. In finishing 43rd in the FedEx Cup, Fowler earned a $132,000 bonus.
In October, Fowler enjoyed his first professional win with victory in the
OneAsia Tour's
Kolon Korea Open, securing a six-shot victory over
Rory McIlroy
Rory Daniel McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who is a member of both the European and PGA Tours. He is the current world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, and has spent over 100 weeks in ...
.
Fowler ended 2011 ranked 32nd in the
world
In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
.
In September, Fowler, along with
Graeme McDowell
Graeme McDowell (born 30 July 1979) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland. He has a total of eleven tournament victories on the European Tour, and four on the PGA Tour, including one major championship, the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble ...
, was part of the PGA Tour's ''These Guys are Good'' campaign.
2012
In May
2012, Fowler won the
Wells Fargo Championship in
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
on the first extra hole of a sudden-death playoff. Replaying the 18th hole, he defeated
Rory McIlroy
Rory Daniel McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who is a member of both the European and PGA Tours. He is the current world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, and has spent over 100 weeks in ...
and
D. A. Points
Darren Andrew "D.A." Points (born December 1, 1976) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour.
Early years and amateur career
Born and raised in Pekin, Illinois, Points attended Pekin High School, and the University o ...
with a birdie to gain his first PGA Tour win. Fowler shot a 69 (−3) in the final round to finish in a three-way tie after 72 holes at
Quail Hollow Club. This win enabled Fowler to break the top-25 in the world, placing him at number 24. The following week at
The Players Championship
The Players Championship (commonly known as simply The Players, stylized by the PGA Tour as The PLAYERS Championship) is an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour. Originally known as the Tournament Players Championship, it began in 1974. The ...
in
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Ponte Vedra Beach is a wealthy unincorporated seaside community and suburb of Jacksonville, Florida in St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located southeast of downtown Jacksonville and north of St. Augustine, it is part of the Jackson ...
, Fowler played the final hole at −11 under par and had a birdie opportunity to bring him within one of leader and eventual winner
Matt Kuchar. Fowler, however, pushed his putt to the right and finished in a tie for second, the fifth second-place finish of his career.
2013
In 2013 Fowler finished runner-up in the
Australian PGA Championship, four shots behind the tournament winner
Adam Scott.
2014
After a tie for fifth at the
Masters in April, Fowler had his best finish of
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
at the
U.S. Open at
Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina. Fowler was runner-up with
Erik Compton at −1, best finishes for both at a major, but they were eight strokes behind champion
Martin Kaymer. Fowler had another second-place finish, at the
Open Championship at
Royal Liverpool Golf Club in
Hoylake
Hoylake is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the north west of the Wirral Peninsula, near West Kirby and where the River Dee meets the Irish Sea. Historically part of Cheshire, the Domes ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. He began the final round six strokes behind
Rory McIlroy
Rory Daniel McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who is a member of both the European and PGA Tours. He is the current world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, and has spent over 100 weeks in ...
and finished the day tied for second with
Sergio García
Sergio García Fernández (; born 9 January 1980) is a Spanish professional golfer. He has played on the European Tour, PGA Tour and LIV Golf Invitational Series. García has won 36 international tournaments as a professional, most notably th ...
at −15, two strokes behind McIlroy. At the next major in August, the
PGA Championship
The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...
, Fowler,
Phil Mickelson,
Henrik Stenson
Henrik Olof Stenson (; born 5 April 1976) is a Swedish professional golfer.
He is the first male Swedish and first male Nordic major champion, having won the 2016 Open Championship at Royal Troon with a major championship record score of 26 ...
, and McIlroy battled for the title on a rain-soaked
Valhalla Golf Club, near
Louisville. Despite holding the lead for a good portion of the day, Fowler tied for third. He was only the third player, along with
Jack Nicklaus
Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. He won 117 professional tou ...
and
Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records.
*
*
* Woods is widely regarded as ...
, to have finished in the top 5 in all four majors in one calendar year, but the first not to win (
Jordan Spieth became the fourth player in 2015). Fowler had 10 top-10 finishes during the 2013–14 season. His 8th-place finish at
The Tour Championship
The Tour Championship (stylized as the TOUR Championship) is a golf tournament that is part of the PGA Tour. It has historically been one of the final events of the PGA Tour season; prior to 2007, its field consisted exclusively of the top 30 ...
moved him to 10th in the world golf rankings.
2015
After a T-12 finish at the
Masters, Fowler earned his first win in over three years with a playoff victory at
The Players Championship
The Players Championship (commonly known as simply The Players, stylized by the PGA Tour as The PLAYERS Championship) is an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour. Originally known as the Tournament Players Championship, it began in 1974. The ...
in May. Trailing
Sergio García
Sergio García Fernández (; born 9 January 1980) is a Spanish professional golfer. He has played on the European Tour, PGA Tour and LIV Golf Invitational Series. García has won 36 international tournaments as a professional, most notably th ...
midway through the final round by five shots, Fowler played the final six holes in 6-under par, including an eagle at the par-5 16th. After a birdie at the famous 17th hole, Fowler's final birdie of the round on 18 left him at 12-under par. Both García and
Kevin Kisner had birdie attempts to win at the 18th in regulation, but both missed and the three men went to a three-hole aggregate playoff to decide a winner on holes 16–18. Fowler and Kisner went par-birdie-par to tie at −1 while García's three pars left him at even and he was eliminated. Thus Fowler and Kisner went to sudden death starting at the 17th, where Kisner's tee shot landed within about of the cup. Fowler answered with a shot inside of five feet, and when Kisner's birdie attempt slid by, Fowler responded by making his short birdie to claim the championship. Fowler played his final 10 holes in 8-under par. On July 12, he won the
Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open
The Genesis Scottish Open is a professional golf tournament in Scotland, and is one of five tournaments that are part of the Rolex Series, which identifies it as one of the European Tour's premier events. It has been played on various courses, b ...
on the
European Tour, shooting a 12-under-par 268. On September 7, he won the
Deutsche Bank Championship, the second FedEx Cup Playoffs event, by one stroke over
Henrik Stenson
Henrik Olof Stenson (; born 5 April 1976) is a Swedish professional golfer.
He is the first male Swedish and first male Nordic major champion, having won the 2016 Open Championship at Royal Troon with a major championship record score of 26 ...
, for his third victory on the PGA Tour.
2016
After finishing fifth in the
Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii, Fowler claimed his first victory of 2016 in the
Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship
The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship is a European Tour golf tournament held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. When founded in 2006, it was one of three European Tour events to be staged in the Arabian Peninsula, but at one point was one of six.
Hist ...
on the European Tour. He shot a final round of 69 to finish one clear of Belgium's
Thomas Pieters
Thomas Pieters (born 27 January 1992) is a Belgian professional golfer who currently plays on the European Tour.
Early life
Pieters was born in Geel, Belgium in 1992. He started playing golf at the age of five, learning the game at the Witbos G ...
. Two weeks later, Fowler was in contention to win again but lost out to Japan's Hideki Matsuyama in a playoff at the
Waste Management Phoenix Open. On March 7, Fowler sparked fantastic scenes after sinking a hole-in-one with fellow tour pro Luke Donald's pitching wedge to win $1 million for Ernie Els' charity, Els for Autism.
In June, Fowler announced that he would not defend his Scottish Open title at Castle Stuart, citing the tight schedule due to golf's return to the Olympic Games as the main reason. At the 2016 Olympics, he came in 37th place.
At the first
FedEx Cup
The FedEx Cup is a championship trophy for the PGA Tour. Its introduction marked the first time that men's professional golf had a playoff system. Announced in November 2005, it was first awarded in 2007. Rory McIlroy is the 2022 champion. ...
playoff event of the season,
The Barclays, Fowler went into the final round leading the event by one stroke. He endured a difficult final round, shooting a two-over-par 74. His challenge was ended with a double-bogey at the 16th hole that put him four strokes behind playing partner
Patrick Reed. He went on to finish T7, three strokes behind the winner Reed. As a result of this, Fowler also failed to secure his automatic Ryder Cup spot, which he would have done with a top-three finish. Fowler moved up from 28th to 16th in the FedEx Cup standings with this result.
2017
On February 26, Fowler won
The Honda Classic
The Honda Classic is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in south Florida. It was founded in 1972 as Jackie Gleason's Inverrary Classic, and prior to a schedule change in 2021 was frequently the first of the Florida events in late winter ...
for his fourth PGA Tour win. For the first time in his career, Fowler preserved his 54-hole lead to win. The title saw Fowler move back up into the top 10 of the world rankings.
On June 16, Fowler carded a round of 65 at
Erin Hills
Erin Hills is a golf course in the north central United States, located in Erin, Wisconsin, in Washington County, northwest of Milwaukee. The course officially opened in 2006. It hosted the 117th U.S. Open in 2017. The announcement was made ...
to take the first round lead at the
2017 U.S. Open. Fowler equaled the lowest first round score at the U.S. Open and led by one stroke from
Paul Casey and
Xander Schauffele. He followed this up with a one over par 73 in the second round to fall out of the lead by one stroke, held by four other players. He shot 68–72 over the weekend to finish in a tie for fifth place. This gave Fowler his sixth top-5 finish in a major, but he is still yet to win. Fowler started the
PGA Championship
The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...
with a 2-under 69 which was two strokes behind the leaders. After rounds of 70–73, he closed out the year's last major with a 4-under 67, including a run of four consecutive birdies on holes 12 through 15. Despite his solid finish, Fowler ended up tied for fifth and was 3 strokes behind the winner, and friend,
Justin Thomas. It was his seventh top-5 major finish, meaning he's had multiple top-5 finishes at every major.
2018
On November 12, 2017, Fowler started his 2018 season at the
OHL Classic at Mayakoba where he shot rounds of 65-67-67-67 for an 18-under-par total, one stroke shy of winner,
Patton Kizzire
Maxie Patton Kizzire (born March 3, 1986) is an American professional golfer, currently playing on the PGA Tour.
Amateur career
Kizzire was born in Montgomery, Alabama, grew up in Tuscaloosa, and played his collegiate golf at Auburn University. H ...
. It was his 12th tour runner-up finish and he became just the 27th golfer in PGA Tour history to win $30,000,000 in Tour earnings.
On December 3, 2017, Fowler recorded a 61, 11-under-par, in the fourth round to win the
Hero World Challenge. He came from 7 strokes behind the 54-hole leader,
Charley Hoffman
Charley Lindley Hoffman (born December 27, 1976) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.
Early years and amateur career
Born in San Diego, California, Hoffman won the California state high school championship in 1994 and 199 ...
and claimed a four-stroke victory. The round of 61 was a course and tournament record, as well as being a personal best round for Fowler as a professional.
At the 2018
Waste Management Phoenix Open, Fowler birdied his final three holes during the third round to take the 54-hole lead by a stroke. This was his 6th 54-hole lead/co-lead of his career but had only converted once in the previous five attempts. In the final round, Fowler shot a 72 (+2) to finish T11.
At the
2018 Masters Tournament, Fowler shot a 72-hole score of −14 (274) to finish in 2nd place to champion
Patrick Reed by 1 stroke. It was his eighth top-5 major finish, giving him multiple top-5 finishes at every major, however, he still has yet to win one.
In September 2018, Fowler qualified for the U.S. team participating in the
2018 Ryder Cup
The 42nd Ryder Cup Matches were held in France from 28 to 30 September 2018 on the Albatros Course of Le Golf National in Guyancourt, a suburb southwest of Paris. It was the second Ryder Cup to be held in Continental Europe (rather than Great B ...
. Europe defeated the U.S. team 17 1/2 to 10 1/2. He went 1-3-0. He lost his singles match against
Sergio García
Sergio García Fernández (; born 9 January 1980) is a Spanish professional golfer. He has played on the European Tour, PGA Tour and LIV Golf Invitational Series. García has won 36 international tournaments as a professional, most notably th ...
.
2019
In January, Fowler signed a multi-year deal to use TaylorMade golf balls and gloves. On February 3, Fowler won the
Waste Management Phoenix Open after having a four-stroke lead in the final round, losing the lead, then regaining the lead for a two-stroke victory.
In December 2019, Fowler played on the U.S. team at the
2019 Presidents Cup at
Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia. The U.S. team won 16–14. Fowler went 1–0–3 and halved his Sunday singles match against
Marc Leishman.
2020
At the
Sentry Tournament of Champions, Fowler finished T5th. The following week at
The American Express
The Desert Classic (currently known as The American Express for sponsorship reasons; previously known as the CareerBuilder Challenge, Palm Springs Golf Classic, the Bob Hope Desert Classic, the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, and the Humana Challen ...
, Fowler finished T10th. This would be Fowler's last top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour for a while as he started to struggle.
The
2019–20 PGA Tour season was suspended due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. Once the season resumed, Fowler's struggles continued with up and down results. Fowler's best results after the restart included T12th at the
Rocket Mortgage Classic and a T15th at the
2020 WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational
The 2020 WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational was the 22nd WGC Invitational held July 30 – August 2 at the TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee. Originally planned for July 2–5, it was rescheduled and played with no spectators in attendance due ...
. However, Fowler struggled at times to make the cut at many tournaments and missed 6 cuts out of 14 tournaments Fowler played in the period of January to August. His season ended on two disappointing notes. Fowler missed the cut at the
2020 PGA Championship. For the FedEx Cup playoffs, Fowler finished T49th at
The Northern Trust and failed to qualify for the
BMW Championship. After a month of rest, Fowler returned to compete in the
2020 U.S. Open. Fowler finished T49th. At the
2020 Masters Tournament, Fowler would finish T29th.
2021
As Fowler continued to struggle with a missed cut at the
2021 Players Championship and a T65th at the Honda Classic, he was at risk of missing the
2021 Masters Tournament
The 2021 Masters Tournament was the 85th edition of the Masters Tournament and the first of the men's four major golf championships held in 2021. It was held from April 8–11, 2021, at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.
After ...
heading into the
Valero Texas Open. Fowler finished T17th, and therefore missed the Masters. This was the first major Fowler missed since not qualifying for the
2010 U.S. Open.
Fowler missed cuts at the
Wells Fargo Championship and the
AT&T Byron Nelson. At the
2021 PGA Championship, he finished T8th, his first top-10 finish in an event since the 2020
Sentry Tournament of Champions.
2022
Fowler's struggles continued into 2022, missing his first three cuts until a T55th finish at the
Genesis Invitational
The Genesis Invitational is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in southern California, first played in 1926 as the Los Angeles Open. Other previous names include Genesis Open, Northern Trust Open and Nissan Open. Played annually ...
. He only played one major, the
PGA Championship
The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...
, where he tied for 23rd. Fowler barely retained his Tour card, finishing 125th in the FedEx Cup, claiming the last spot. In the off-season, Fowler parted ways with long-time caddie Joe Skovron, who spent 13 years on the bag for Fowler, replacing him with Ricky Romano. Fowler also fired swing coach John Tillery, bringing back his old swing coach,
Butch Harmon. These changes produced quick results, as Fowler finished tied for 6th in the season opening
Fortinet Championship. After a missed cut at the
Shriners Children's Open
The Shriners Children's Open is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour in Nevada. Founded in 1983, it is the fourth event of the Tour's 2019–20 wrap-around season and is played annually in October in Las Vegas. It is currently held at the TPC ...
, Fowler tied for second at the
Zozo Championship
The Zozo Championship (Japanese: ''ゾゾ・チャンピオンシップ'') is a professional golf tournament in Inzai, Chiba Prefecture, which is located in the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is co-sanctioned by the Japan Golf Tour and the PGA ...
, one shot behind winner
Keegan Bradley. This was Fowler's best finish on Tour since the 2019 Honda Classic, where he also tied for second.
Personal life
Fowler resides in
Jupiter, Florida
Jupiter is the northernmost town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 Census, the town had a population of 61,047 as of April 1, 2020. It is 84 miles north of Miami, and the northernmost community in the Miami met ...
, relocating from
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...
following the 2010 season. Fowler's middle name, Yutaka, comes from his maternal grandfather, who is
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
ese. His maternal grandmother is
Navajo
The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Southwestern United States.
With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest fe ...
Native American. On the final day of a golf tournament Fowler wears
orange in honor of
Oklahoma State University
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
.
Fowler is one of four golfers in the "Golf Boys" group along with fellow PGA Tour players
Ben Crane
Benjamin McCully Crane (born March 6, 1976) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.
Early years and amateur career
Crane was born in Portland, Oregon. He was introduced to golf at age five by his grandfather. He grew up pl ...
,
Bubba Watson
Gerry Lester "Bubba" Watson Jr. (born November 5, 1978) is an American professional golfer. He has played predominantly on the PGA Tour, and is a multiple major champion, with victories at the Masters Tournament in 2012 and 2014. In February 20 ...
and
Hunter Mahan
Hunter Myles Mahan (born May 17, 1982) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He is a winner of two World Golf Championship events, the 2010 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and the 2012 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship ...
. The Golf Boys released a YouTube video of the song "Oh Oh Oh" on the eve of the
2011 U.S. Open.
Farmers Insurance donating $1,000 for every 100,000 views of the video. The charitable proceeds went to support both Farmers and Ben Crane charitable initiatives.
In 2012, Fowler filmed a commercial for
Crowne Plaza Hotels entitled "It's Good to be Rickie" with golf commentator
Ian Baker Finch. He was featured in an
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
"This is SportsCenter" commercial with sportscaster
John Anderson in 2013. On November 28, 2015, Fowler was th
guest pickeron
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
's ''
College GameDay'' (his picks went 7–4).
Fowler attends weekly Bible studies on tour.
In 2015, Fowler was announced as an official ambassador for PGA Junior League Golf, a program owned and operated by the
PGA of America.
Fowler has at least six tattoos. One is a block "G" near his left elbow in honor of Georgia Veach, the daughter of a Seattle pastor and friend. Georgia was diagnosed with
lissencephaly. Fowler got the tattoo just before the
2015 Presidents Cup. The second is from January 2016 and contains the name Yutaka Tanaka (Rickie's grandfather) in Japanese script on his left biceps. The third tattoo came just weeks after playing at the
2016 Summer Olympics
)
, nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams)
, athletes = 11,238
, events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines)
, opening = 5 August 2016
, closing = 21 August 2016
, opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer
, cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...
and is of the
Olympic symbols. Rickie also has smaller tattoos, including a capital F at the base of his right wrist, a cross on his left index finger, and a phrase at the base of his right left wrist.
Fowler started dating track and field amateur athlete
Allison Stokke in 2017. They became engaged in June 2018, and married in October 2019. The couple have a daughter, born November 2021.
Amateur wins
*2005
Western Junior
*2007
Sunnehanna Amateur,
Players Amateur
*2008
Sunnehanna Amateur, Big 12 Championship
Professional wins (9)
PGA Tour wins (5)
PGA Tour playoff record (2–2)
European Tour wins (2)
OneAsia Tour wins (1)
1Co-sanctioned by the
Korean Tour
The Korean Tour is a men's professional golf tour run by the Korea Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) of South Korea. In 2011, it had total prize money of about US$14 million.
Professional golf in Korea dates back to the mid 20th century ...
Other wins (1)
Playoff record
Nationwide Tour playoff record (0–1)
Results in major championships
''Results not in chronological order in 2020.''
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
Summary
*Most consecutive cuts made – 14 (2016 Open – 2019 Open)
*Longest streak of top-10s – 4 (2014 Masters – 2014 PGA)
The Players Championship
Wins (1)
Results timeline
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
C = Canceled after the first round due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
Results in World Golf Championships
''Results not in chronological order prior to 2015.''
1Cancelled due to
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
pandemic
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
NT = No tournament
"T" = tied
PGA Tour career summary
*As of the 2021 season.
[
]
U.S. national team appearances
Amateur
* Walker Cup: 2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...
(winners), 2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...
(winners)
* Palmer Cup: 2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
* Eisenhower Trophy: 2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
(individual leader)
Professional
*Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...
: 2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
, 2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
, 2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
(winners), 2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
*Presidents Cup
The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...
: 2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...
(winners), 2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
(winners), 2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
(winners)
* World Cup: 2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
See also
*2009 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
__NOTOC__
This is a list of the 25 players who earned their 2010 PGA Tour card through Q School in 2009.
2010 Results
*PGA Tour rookie in 2010
T = Tied
Green background indicates the player retained his PGA Tour card for 2011 (finished insid ...
References
External links
*
*
*
Profile on Oklahoma State's official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fowler, Rickie
American male golfers
Oklahoma State Cowboys golfers
PGA Tour golfers
Ryder Cup competitors for the United States
Olympic golfers of the United States
Golfers at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Golfers from California
Golfers from Nevada
Golfers from Florida
Sportspeople from Anaheim, California
People from Murrieta, California
Sportspeople from Las Vegas
People from Jupiter, Florida
Native American sportspeople
American people of Navajo descent
American sportspeople of Japanese descent
1988 births
Living people