Rickie Fowler has been there before, on the brink but never crossing the line. On Sunday, he goes again in search of his Major moment.
Weather may have been the big question at the start of play Saturday as the forecast called for a cool, rainy day and maybe even some lightning. But as Rickie Fowler walked off the 18th green at the Augusta National late in the afternoon having shot a 7-under-par 65 to go to 9-under for the Tournament, another query came to mind.
It was the same one that CBS broadcaster Jim Nantz posed as Phil Mickelson’s birdie putt rolled toward the cup on that same hole on Masters Sunday in 2004.
Is it his time?
It’s a reasonable question given how the 29-year-old Fowler’s record in major championships has mostly been a case of close but no cigar.
He posted top-five finishes in all four majors in 2014 in a run that included tying for fifth in the Masters, being the runner-up in the U.S. Open and tying for second at the Open Championship. He also tied for fifth at the British Open in 2011, the year after he was named the PGA Tour’s Rookie of the Year, and matched that finish at both the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship in 2017.
Once again, he may be on the verge of doing so, thanks to his round on Saturday. Fowler did not bogey a hole for the first time in 29 competitive rounds at Augusta National, and he rode the momentum he acquired with an eagle 3 at No. 2 to record five birdies (on hole Nos. 5, 6, 8, 15 and 17) and to make a pair of tough up-and-downs on 11 and 13.
‘I am playing the golf course the best I ever have,’ said Fowler, who leads the field in this year’s Masters in putts made greater than 20 feet, at 21.74 percent, and has played the last four holes in 5-under this week.
‘I am hitting a lot more greens than I ever have here and driving it the best I ever have. We’re in the golf tournament, and what I need to do now is play the first nine well and put myself in the mix when the tournament really starts, on the second nine tomorrow afternoon.’
When asked what he learned from last year’s Masters, and what he could do better this time around, Folwer said: ‘The big thing is sticking to what we have been doing all week and not getting any more aggressive or defensive, especially on the first nine. I need to continue to stick with our game plan and go through the process like we have been doing all week, not getting too quick and making sure we’re staying patient and that I am ready to commit and hit each shot. And if I make a bad swing, I need to deal with the consequences and then move on’
Is it his time?
Fowler’s hope is that at the end of play Sunday that Nantz will answer that question the same way as he did for Mickelson 14 years ago: ‘Yes, at long last!’
Credit: Masters.com
