Rickie Fowler admits it was tough to catch Marc Leishman because of the Australian’s ability to bounce back from any mistakes at the BMW Championship, writes WADE PRETORIUS.
Fowler made two birdies in a row to get his day started in the best possible fashion, but a string of pars to close out the outward nine meant it was Leishman’s to lose going down the stretch.
In the end, Leishman held his nerve to secure the vital win so late in the season.
‘It was nice to give Marc a little bit of a push,’ said Fowler after his T2 finish.
‘But he did a great job out there playing in control and he made that cushion where he allowed himself to make mistakes, but when he did make a bad swing or mistake did a good job rebounding.
‘I think he made really just that one bogey on the front and come back a little, but rebounded quickly and one bogey on the back. Stepped up and made some birdies coming in. It was tough to catch him.’
Fowler has continued to rack up the top-10 finishes – he has six in nine starts since the US Open, and laid blame on the occasional three-putt for not getting closer to lifting trophies late in the year.
‘It would have been nice not to have some 3-putts. That was a bit of a downer. Outside of that I think we hit a lot of good putts, made some good putts. I chipped a lot better this week than the last couple, the ones where I didn’t finish in the top 10.
‘I feel like the rest of the game is right there. The short game is not there. It’s a struggle sometimes to hang around the top. So, no, it’s been a fun year. I’m looking forward to next week. I think it will all come together at the right time.’
After trying and failing to reel in Leishman over the past two days, Fowler paid respect to the often underrated Australian.
‘Marc’s a world-class player now,’ said Fowler.
‘He’s got the power, he hits it plenty far. He made plenty of big putts today, especially coming down the stretch, made some good swings. He’s definitely not someone that you look past. I think maybe that’s been the case in the past, but I know us as players, it’s never really been that way.’
The pair will resume battle at Eastlake, but it is Leishman who knows that a win will automatically ensure he adds the $10-million bonus to his already bulging bank balance.
For Fowler, he will need to find an extra gear in the season finale, and then hope that those in the seeded spots above him fall short this week.
Photo: Stacy Revere/Getty Images
