Fowler fashions stunning comeback at Players
Down by five with six to play, he makes it into three-way playoff
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLA. — The latest survey was unanimous, not anonymous. Rickie Fowler can deliver the goods.
Facing a five-shot deficit with six holes to play, Fowler produced the greatest finish in the 34-year history of the TPC Sawgrass. In a three-man playoff on three of the most visually intimidating holes in golf, he never backed down.
And when the American faced that nervous shot over the water to an island for the third time Sunday, he was as good as ever.
No, there was nothing overrated about this kid.
Criticized in an anonymous survey by some of his peers for not being able to win, Fowler answered with a captivating victory at The Players Championship.
At a tournament that dresses up like a major, Fowler looked the part in beating the strongest field in golf with an array of shots that won’t be forgotten. As for that survey? “I laughed at the poll,” he said.
“But yeah, if there was any question, I think this right here answers anything you need to know.”
It was hard work.
He took six shots on the par-3 17th hole, which is not unusual for a Sunday except that Fowler played it three times. And even with the record-setting finish at the Stadium Course — birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie on the last four holes for a 5-under 67 — Fowler still had to face Sergio Garcia and Kevin Kisner, who produced big shots of their own.
For the first time, The Players went to a three-hole aggregate playoff starting on the par-5 16th, where earlier Fowler hit a 3-wood into the breeze to 30 inches for an eagle that made this moment possible.
They all made pars on the 16th.
Kisner rolled in a breaking 10-foot birdie putt on the island-green 17th to keep pace with Fowler, who hit his tee shot to 6 feet and converted the birdie. Garcia, who in regulation made a 45-foot birdie to give him new life, failed to repeat the putt from about the same range in the playoff.
All three players made par on the final hole, which eliminated Garcia.
Fowler and Kisner, who closed with a 69 and lost for the second time in a month in a playoff, headed back to the 17th hole for the third time. The great shots kept coming.
Kisner barely cleared the mound and the ball settled 12 feet away.
Fowler answered by taking on the right side of the green and sticking it just inside 5 feet. Kisner finally missed. David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., shot a final round of 6-over 78 to finish the tournament tied for 42nd and 2-under par.
Hearn was two shots back of the lead heading into Sunday.
Graham DeLaet, of Weyburn, Sask., tied for 56th, while Nick Taylor, of Abbotsford, B.C., ended up at 5-over, finishing 73rd.
It was the second time in a month that Kisner, winless in 102 starts, lost in a playoff despite making clutch putts.
“Golf is a hard and cruel game,” Kisner said.
“But hats off. I mean, shoot, these guys are good, I’m telling you. Don’t give up on anybody.”
Fowler never seemed to miss over the final two hours, and he calmly clutched his fist to celebrate his first PGA Tour victory in three years.
“I’ve been waiting a long time for this,” Fowler said. “Back in the winner’s circle.”
For Fowler, the timing couldn’t have been better.
One of the questions in SI Golf’s annual player survey — players do not give their names — was to pick the most overrated player on the PGA Tour.
Fowler and Ian Poulter shared first place at 24 per cent. Fowler has never faced this level of criticism. He is a favourite among fans and most players for his considerate behaviour.
He tried to play it down, though he said on more than one occasion this week that it would motivate him.
Fowler was five shots behind Garcia when he “hit the button.” It was more like hitting warp speed.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla . — Tiger Woods swung his driver on the seventh hole and it went right down the middle. His driver, not the golf ball. This wasn’t a fit of disgust Sunday at The Players Championship, rather one of those times where Woods feels trapped between the old swing he is trying to forget and the new one he is trying to build. He let the club go after impact, and it travelled some 15 feet. The golf ball went 275 yards, off-line and near the face of a bunker.
Standing next to the water cooler, Woods said loud enough for those around him to hear, “Old swing, new release pattern.”
His earlier birdie was erased by a bogey on that hole, just as three straight birdies to start the back nine were erased by a triple bogey — the third time this week he had to put a 7 on his scorecard.
It added to an even-par 72 and his worst position in 17 trips to The Players Championship.
“It was a mixed bag pretty much all week,” Woods said. “A lot of really, really good stuff out there, some mediocre and some bad. What did I have? Three 7s on the week. That’s not very good.”
He wound up at 3-over 291 and tied for 69th. Only the top 60 receive ranking points, so Woods will slide even more from No. 125.
His 72-hole score was not his highest at the TPC Sawgrass. He tied for 53rd at 5-over 293 in 2005, the year he won the Masters and the British Open at St. Andrews and returned to No. 1 in the world. That’s an example of how the Stadium Course can drag anyone down if the game is not firing.
Woods is still sputtering, though at least moving forward. He took off two months before the Masters because his game and scores were not up to standard. He tied for 17th at Augusta National. He had to make a 10-foot birdie putt on his final hole Friday just to make the cut. But he said he felt much more comfortable with his swing than he did at the Masters.