Rickie Fowler feels good about his recreation after a T2 end in Japan.
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It would in all probability be a stretch to name Rickie Fowler’s loss on the Zozo Championship a heartbreak.
Yes, this was his finest likelihood to win since his final victory in 2019. Yes, he’s one of the extra well-liked gamers on the PGA Tour regardless of falling so far as 185th in the world final month. Yes, he’s largely fallen short of sky-high expectations after turning professional as one of the world’s No. 1 novice in 2009.
But a heartbreak this week was not.
Many of us in the United States went to sleep with Fowler holding a one-stroke lead, about to tee off for the ultimate spherical in Japan. We awoke to a different golfer getting his first win this decade, solely it was Keegan Bradley who claimed his first title since 2018 by a stroke over Fowler and Andrew Putnam.
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Fowler’s day was flat. He was one over via six holes and ended up birding the ultimate gap for an even-par-70 to share second. His closing spherical was three strokes worse than any of his different scores this week. He had extra putts and missed extra greens Sunday than he did in any of the primary three rounds. There was nothing dramatic in regards to the loss itself. He didn’t convey his “A game” on Sunday and Bradley beat him. He owned that.
“Gave it our all, left it all out there. Big congrats to Keegan, he made the putts, I didn’t. He earned it,” he stated.
But Fowler has thrown his established order out the window the previous few months after simply barely squeaking into the FedEx Cup playoffs. You in all probability heard he break up from longtime caddie Joe Skovron on the finish of the common season, who’s now on the bag of final week’s winner Tom Kim. He’s again working with Butch Harmon and he’s even utilizing a fairly completely different set of golf equipment.
Couple his runner-up end in Japan along with his top-10 in the season opener in California and Fowler appears to love the place issues are headed.
“Kind of bittersweet,” Fowler stated. “Obviously needed to get the job performed and I felt superb going into in the present day. Felt, you realize, in all probability pretty much as good as you may really feel on the market. Final spherical, haven’t been there an entire lot in the final couple years, actually simply didn’t give myself many alternatives till the tip.
“Definitely excited about having a couple good finishes to start the season and a lot of good stuff coming.”
Fowler had a good begin to final season when he completed tied for third on the 2021 CJ Cup. The five-time PGA Tour winner additionally held the lead after three rounds that week earlier than coming out equally flat in the ultimate spherical. His closing 71 left him three strokes behind winner Rory McIlroy. It was his solely top-20 end for your complete season.
On Sunday, Fowler acknowledged in earlier years since his final win — after which he was ranked eighth in the Official World Golf Ranking — when he would have an excellent end solely to revert to poor play afterward. This feels completely different for Fowler.
“It’s just finally in a position where we’re building momentum and building more confidence,” Fowler stated. “I really feel like in the previous few years there can be instances the place [I’d] form of take a step ahead and simply was by no means actually in a position to construct extra momentum than for one week at a time.
“[I’m] in a great spot and finally in a position where things are starting to kind of snowball and head in the right direction, all together.”
Fowler solely felt the one factor holding him again on the ultimate day was placing.
“I hit some darn good putts that it was like there was a cover over the hole,” he stated. “I’ve been a little off all week … the putts not going in coming down the stretch, it wasn’t me hitting poor putts. I hit my lines and hit great putts, just didn’t break how I saw it, so it is what it is.”
He may have been down after the loss, however he wasn’t, doubtless as a result of he feels there’s extra of this type of play coming.
Fowler’s opponent Sunday, Keegan Bradley, could have felt equally to Fowler the previous few years. Bradley discovered himself in competition quite a few instances after the previous two seasons, however may by no means get the job performed, with 10 top-10s over the interval to point out for it. He contended on the U.S. Open and even led the Wells Fargo Championship via three rounds this previous season.
He lastly discovered the winner’s circle this weekend. Fowler’s time could possibly be on the best way, too.
“It’s why we play,” he stated. “To really put yourself in a position where you have a chance on the back nine, that’s what it all comes down to. Obviously left some out there and I wish it was a different outcome, but good to be back in the position and ready to do that a lot more often.”
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