Rickie Fowler shot 60 whereas watching Justin Thomas shoot 62 forward of him.
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It might have been deja vu for Rickie Fowler Saturday at the Travelers Championship.
Per week after capturing the first-ever 62 in a U.S. Open, holding the 54-hole lead and ending T5 at Los Angeles Country Club to reassert himself into the main championship dialog for the first time in years, Fowler had one other likelihood for immortality.
This time it was for golf’s magic quantity: 59.
Much like he tore aside LACC per week in the past, making birdie on half of his first 36 holes, Fowler dissected TPC River Highlands, one in every of the extra getable programs on Tour, to the tune of eight birdies and an eagle via 17 holes. He had just a 14-foot chip left on his last gap (the ninth) to shoot the twelfth sub-60 spherical in PGA Tour historical past.
It didn’t go, however Fowler settled for the lowest spherical of his profession. Perhaps solely Fowler knew his resurgent season was coming. Before the begin of the Fortinet Championship final fall, he was 186th in the Official World Golf Rankings. He held the 54-hole lead at the Zozo Championship earlier than dropping out to Keegan Bradley — who additionally took the 54-hole lead in Connecticut by one at 21 beneath.
After his shut name at the U.S. Open, he entered this week’s Designated occasion — which he’s required to play having nonetheless completed prime 20 in the PIP, regardless of practically dropping his card final season — at No. 35 in the world.
That’s solely 17 spots behind the man he obtained to observe shoot one other low quantity in entrance of him Saturday. In reality, Fwoler even gave Justin Thomas a part of the credit score for his personal rating.
“In a way, we’re kind of feeding off each other with me playing right behind him,” Fowler instructed CBS Sports’ Amanda Renner. “It was fun. I know he’s been struggling a little bit as of late, so to see him play well yesterday and then get back on the horse today and get going — that’s when it’s fun is when you can feed off your buddies and get going.”
Just as Fowler’s resurgence hit the highlight at the U.S. Open, Thomas’ current struggles might have hit a low level.
Since Thomas gained the PGA Championship in May 2022, he’s recorded just three official prime 10s. Last week at the U.S. Open, Thomas bottomed out with the worst rating of his PGA Tour profession in the second spherical, an 81 that despatched him residence early, ending 153rd out of 156 gamers.
‘It’s all fairly sh***y’: Justin Thomas blunt after ending 152nd at U.S. Open
Nick Piastowski
Thomas has performed so poorly throughout the 2022-23 season that he’s in jeopardy of lacking each the Ryder Cup staff and the FedEx Cup Playoffs for the first time since becoming a member of the Tour.
After his second spherical at the U.S. Open, he stated he felt as low together with his recreation as he ever had. But in his post-round interview Saturday with Renner, he revealed once more he was enjoying as “the best I’ve played in years” in the days main as much as the Open.
“It just was such a bad week, like I said, I legitimately felt like it was a fluke,” he stated later Saturday afternoon. “It just was honestly so bad that it was easier to put behind me. I felt like I was working on the right things in my swing, and like I said, just in such a better headspace this week.”
A drought of greater than year-plus with out a win for a participant to storm out of the gates with 15 in his first eight seasons actually qualifies as regarding, particularly if you begin listening to about him worrying about his headspace.
However, if there’s anybody who might know a factor or two about recovering from poor type, it’s Fowler.
Just as Fowler waited round for Xander Schauffele final Thursday after the latter matched his U.S. Open-record 62, Thomas waited round for Fowler to congratulate him on practically breaking golf’s model of the sound barrier.
The dichatomy of the two associates’ positions of their careers shouldn’t be misplaced. Fowler is just rounding again into type after a stoop. While Thomas might have just discovered the backside of his.
On Saturday afternoon they had been merely associates who each obtained scorching at the similar time. Sunday, they’ll each be chasing Keegan Bradley, coming into the last spherical seven and 6 pictures, respectively, out of the lead. They’re each chasing first wins. First in a yr for Thomas and the first in additional than 4 for Fowler.
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