Rickie Fowler Reserves His Flash for the U.S. Open’s First Round
Fowler no longer wears blinding colors and his shaggy hair is long gone. But after years of struggle at major tournaments, the popular golfer quietly made U.S. Open history on Thursday.
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Rickie Fowler putted on the seventh hole during the first round of the U.S. Open.Credit...Lindsey Wasson/Associated Press
By Bill Pennington
Reporting from Los Angeles
June 15, 2023, 8:16 p.m. ET
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No golf fans followed Rickie Fowler on Thursday dressed the same as he was. That used to be a thing in 2010 when Fowler, then 22, rode his relaxed dirt-biking roots and a boy band vibe complete with a top-to-toe orange outfit and a flat-brim hat to enormous popularity.
Fowler, now 34 and a husband and father, was still dapper in Thursday’s first round of the U.S. Open at the Los Angeles Country Club but hardly flashy in a soft blue-gray pullover with white trim that matched his white cap, pants and shoes.
The crowds were somewhat understated, too. Nine holes into his round, which had started on the 10th hole, a packed grandstand politely applauded when Fowler made a birdie putt to tie for the tournament lead at three under par. A fan called out, “Keep it going, Rickie.” But the reaction was hardly the same as the raucous quasi delirium that the longhaired younger Fowler once elicited.
Finally, as he marched toward his final nine holes, the volume began to ratchet up. With five birdies and four pars in the closing nine holes, Fowler shot an eight-under 62. It was the lowest round in the history of the U.S. Open. Not long after, Xander Schauffele would match it.
That did not alter the quiet smile on Fowler’s face as he hugged a group of friends and colleagues afterward. They had watched his many recent struggles on the golf course — “dark days,” he once called them — and admired how his countenance had never changed.
The U.S. Open
The PGA Tour event is back in Los Angeles for the first time in 75 years.Course Guide: The Los Angeles Country Club has never been in the spotlight of a major championship. Collin Morikawa, one of the few pros with meaningful experience there, walked us through some key holes.
PGA Tour-LIV Golf Merger: For many players, the deal’s announcement was golf’s version of a flash grenade: stunning, staggering, disorienting. And now, the effects lingering, they need to play the U.S. Open.
Not Forgotten: Tiger Woods, the best California golfer in history, is being forced to miss the U.S. Open’s return to Los Angeles after ankle surgery. But even in absentia, his presence is felt.
Avoiding the Barranca: A narrow gully winds through the Los Angeles Country Club’s course, providing drainage during the rainy season — and a challenge to golfers.
“He’s always been the same guy,” said Justin Rose, who had played with Fowler on Thursday and shot a disappointing 76. “It was fun to watch Rickie today. That was the highlight of my day. Good for him.”
Thursday’s result was something of a surprise for Fowler, but not a shock. He has been predicting some kind of revival for months. Once the fourth-ranked golfer in the world, Fowler had plummeted all the way to No. 173 last year. In 2014, he had finished in the top five at each of the four major tournaments. By 2022, he had played in only one, the P.G.A. Championship, and finished tied for 23rd.
People wondered if he would defect to the LIV Golf circuit just to get a final big paycheck while his name still meant something. But Fowler stayed with his PGA Tour pals Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, with whom he once took beach vacations, and persevered. He could regularly be seen alone, grinding on the range or practicing putting by himself late in the afternoon or evening during tournaments.
Editors’ Picks
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My Sister-in-Law Spent All Her Parents’ Money When She Took Them In. Now She Wants More!
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Continue reading the main story
Image
Fowler, left, and Jason Day walk from the eighth green on Thursday.Credit...Erik S Lesser/EPA, via Shutterstock
Last month, after several encouraging results, Fowler vaulted back into the top 50 of the rankings, which qualified him for last month’s P.G.A. Championship. Fowler talked as if he had turned a corner.
“Getting back to this stage, I mean, it’s never fun,” he said. “But in many ways, I’ve actually enjoyed it. I learned things about myself. Not that I lost faith, but I came to almost embrace the grind.”
To that end, Fowler would have been forgiven if he had sauntered around the L.A. Country Club grounds on Thursday with a giant grin that never left his face. But interestingly, Fowler was mostly stoic, flashing a thin smile occasionally. When he sank a three-foot putt for par on his final hole — the uphill, par-3 ninth hole — he barely raised his right hand to acknowledge the cheers roaring from a nearby grandstand.
Interviewed afterward, Fowler maintained his laid-back mien. He insisted he was actually uncomfortable with the L.A. Country Club layout for most of his practice rounds.
“Then, yesterday, finally a couple things clicked and that gave me confidence,” he said, admitting that it had not hurt to have birdied three of his first five holes (with one bogey mixed in).
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Having started his round just after 8 a.m. Pacific time, Fowler reached the halfway point of his round before 10:30 a.m. when a late arriving fandom had yet to fill the grandstands or line the fairways. But as Fowler birdied the first, second and third holes (his 10th, 11th and 12th holes played), larger crowds found Fowler on the golf course. They were treated to a show.
At the drivable par-4 sixth hole, he hit a long iron to 51 yards and then spun a wedge shot to within eight feet and sank that putt for birdie. On the par-5 eighth hole, his drive found the devilish barranca right of the fairway, but he rescued himself with a gutsy chip back into the fairway. “I tried not to overthink it and take too long with that recovery,” he said. His pitch to the green left a 13-foot left-to-right birdie putt that Fowler sank with aplomb.
A record low U.S. Open score was on the table with a closing-hole par, which Fowler also made look easy, despite having to sink a dicey final putt.
“This week is off to a good start,” he said moments later — nonchalantly, as if that were all his performance meant to him.
Later, he would reveal otherwise. Asked to characterize his journey from 173rd in the world to a record-setting round in the national championship, Fowler said: “It’s definitely been long and tough. A lot longer being in that situation than you’d ever want to. But it makes it so worth it having gone through that and being back where we are now.”
A version of this article appears in print on June 16, 2023, Section B, Page 7 of the New York edition with the headline: UNDERSTATED ELEGANCE. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
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Fowler no longer wears blinding colors and his shaggy hair is long gone. But after years of struggle at major tournaments, the popular golfer quietly made U.S. Open history on Thursday.
Give this article
Rickie Fowler putted on the seventh hole during the first round of the U.S. Open.Credit...Lindsey Wasson/Associated PressBy Bill Pennington
Reporting from Los Angeles
June 15, 2023, 8:16 p.m. ET
Sign up for the On Golf newsletter. Our coverage of golf’s most interesting stories and athletes, delivered during the biggest tournaments in the sport. Get it sent to your inbox.
No golf fans followed Rickie Fowler on Thursday dressed the same as he was. That used to be a thing in 2010 when Fowler, then 22, rode his relaxed dirt-biking roots and a boy band vibe complete with a top-to-toe orange outfit and a flat-brim hat to enormous popularity.
Fowler, now 34 and a husband and father, was still dapper in Thursday’s first round of the U.S. Open at the Los Angeles Country Club but hardly flashy in a soft blue-gray pullover with white trim that matched his white cap, pants and shoes.
The crowds were somewhat understated, too. Nine holes into his round, which had started on the 10th hole, a packed grandstand politely applauded when Fowler made a birdie putt to tie for the tournament lead at three under par. A fan called out, “Keep it going, Rickie.” But the reaction was hardly the same as the raucous quasi delirium that the longhaired younger Fowler once elicited.
Finally, as he marched toward his final nine holes, the volume began to ratchet up. With five birdies and four pars in the closing nine holes, Fowler shot an eight-under 62. It was the lowest round in the history of the U.S. Open. Not long after, Xander Schauffele would match it.
That did not alter the quiet smile on Fowler’s face as he hugged a group of friends and colleagues afterward. They had watched his many recent struggles on the golf course — “dark days,” he once called them — and admired how his countenance had never changed.
The U.S. Open
The PGA Tour event is back in Los Angeles for the first time in 75 years.Course Guide: The Los Angeles Country Club has never been in the spotlight of a major championship. Collin Morikawa, one of the few pros with meaningful experience there, walked us through some key holes.
PGA Tour-LIV Golf Merger: For many players, the deal’s announcement was golf’s version of a flash grenade: stunning, staggering, disorienting. And now, the effects lingering, they need to play the U.S. Open.
Not Forgotten: Tiger Woods, the best California golfer in history, is being forced to miss the U.S. Open’s return to Los Angeles after ankle surgery. But even in absentia, his presence is felt.
Avoiding the Barranca: A narrow gully winds through the Los Angeles Country Club’s course, providing drainage during the rainy season — and a challenge to golfers.
“He’s always been the same guy,” said Justin Rose, who had played with Fowler on Thursday and shot a disappointing 76. “It was fun to watch Rickie today. That was the highlight of my day. Good for him.”
Thursday’s result was something of a surprise for Fowler, but not a shock. He has been predicting some kind of revival for months. Once the fourth-ranked golfer in the world, Fowler had plummeted all the way to No. 173 last year. In 2014, he had finished in the top five at each of the four major tournaments. By 2022, he had played in only one, the P.G.A. Championship, and finished tied for 23rd.
People wondered if he would defect to the LIV Golf circuit just to get a final big paycheck while his name still meant something. But Fowler stayed with his PGA Tour pals Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, with whom he once took beach vacations, and persevered. He could regularly be seen alone, grinding on the range or practicing putting by himself late in the afternoon or evening during tournaments.
Editors’ Picks
Two Lifelong Floridians Bolted for Los Angeles, but What Could They Afford?
My Sister-in-Law Spent All Her Parents’ Money When She Took Them In. Now She Wants More!
Meet the First Woman to Sail the ‘Voyage for Madmen’
Continue reading the main story
Image
Fowler, left, and Jason Day walk from the eighth green on Thursday.Credit...Erik S Lesser/EPA, via ShutterstockLast month, after several encouraging results, Fowler vaulted back into the top 50 of the rankings, which qualified him for last month’s P.G.A. Championship. Fowler talked as if he had turned a corner.
“Getting back to this stage, I mean, it’s never fun,” he said. “But in many ways, I’ve actually enjoyed it. I learned things about myself. Not that I lost faith, but I came to almost embrace the grind.”
To that end, Fowler would have been forgiven if he had sauntered around the L.A. Country Club grounds on Thursday with a giant grin that never left his face. But interestingly, Fowler was mostly stoic, flashing a thin smile occasionally. When he sank a three-foot putt for par on his final hole — the uphill, par-3 ninth hole — he barely raised his right hand to acknowledge the cheers roaring from a nearby grandstand.
Interviewed afterward, Fowler maintained his laid-back mien. He insisted he was actually uncomfortable with the L.A. Country Club layout for most of his practice rounds.
“Then, yesterday, finally a couple things clicked and that gave me confidence,” he said, admitting that it had not hurt to have birdied three of his first five holes (with one bogey mixed in).
ADVERTISEMENTContinue reading the main story
Having started his round just after 8 a.m. Pacific time, Fowler reached the halfway point of his round before 10:30 a.m. when a late arriving fandom had yet to fill the grandstands or line the fairways. But as Fowler birdied the first, second and third holes (his 10th, 11th and 12th holes played), larger crowds found Fowler on the golf course. They were treated to a show.
At the drivable par-4 sixth hole, he hit a long iron to 51 yards and then spun a wedge shot to within eight feet and sank that putt for birdie. On the par-5 eighth hole, his drive found the devilish barranca right of the fairway, but he rescued himself with a gutsy chip back into the fairway. “I tried not to overthink it and take too long with that recovery,” he said. His pitch to the green left a 13-foot left-to-right birdie putt that Fowler sank with aplomb.
A record low U.S. Open score was on the table with a closing-hole par, which Fowler also made look easy, despite having to sink a dicey final putt.
“This week is off to a good start,” he said moments later — nonchalantly, as if that were all his performance meant to him.
Later, he would reveal otherwise. Asked to characterize his journey from 173rd in the world to a record-setting round in the national championship, Fowler said: “It’s definitely been long and tough. A lot longer being in that situation than you’d ever want to. But it makes it so worth it having gone through that and being back where we are now.”
A version of this article appears in print on June 16, 2023, Section B, Page 7 of the New York edition with the headline: UNDERSTATED ELEGANCE. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
Give this article
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Enjoy all of The Times.
All of our news coverage, plus recipes, games, product reviews, and more.
$3 $0.25/week
Billed as $1 every 4 weeks for your first year.Subscribe now
Cancel or pause anytime.
Offer for a New York Times All Access subscription; current subscribers not eligible. Subscription excludes print edition. Your payment method will automatically be charged in advance the introductory rate every 4 weeks for 1 year, and after 1 year the standard rate every 4 weeks. Your subscription will continue until you cancel. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period. Taxes may apply. Offer terms are subject to change.
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