Fowler relief as he finally turns last-round lead into a victory

Rickiefowlerhashadtowatch while golf ’s bright young stars kept winning.

Fowler wasn’t in Hawaii when Justin Thomas swept the Aloha State by a combined 10 shots. He took the final two weeks of the West Coast swing off, when Jordan Spieth blew away all his challengers at Pebblebeach,anddustinjohnson was overwhelming at Riviera.

On Sunday at the Honda Classic, it was Fowler’s turn.

He said. “It’s motivating to see my friends win. And to have them texting me last night and wishing me the best, it’s a fun group to be part of because we’re all trying to push each other.

“We love seeing each other play well,” he added. “And we love beating each other.”

Fowler now has four PGA Tour victories, which is solid for a 28-year-old in his eighth season on the PGA Tour, although it doesn’t quite stack up with Mcilroy, Johnson, Spieth, or even Thomas. And, on four previous occasions he has at least a share of the 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour, he had failed to win. Not only that, he had never broken par in the final round when leading.

At PGA National in Florida on Sunday, Fowler had a four-shot lead and he never lost it, although there were a few nervous moments. From behind the fourth green, his putt up the slope found the wrong hole – a sprinkler head – and he dropped a shot. Two holes later, he hooked his tee shot into the water and made a double bogey.

When Gary Woodland started to make a run, Fowler was suddenly only a shot ahead.

Then he rolled in a 40-foot birdie putt at the 12th and added a 25-foot birdie putt on the next. 13. That restored his cushion and another birdie at the 16th meant the tournament was effectively over.

He said: “My putter saved me. If I don’t make those putts, I’ve got a pretty tight race.”

A bogey-bogey finish led to yet another over-par final round when he started with the lead but Fowler still finished on 12-under 268, four shots clear of Woodland and Morgan Hoffmann.

Fowler was asked if closing out the victory meant more than ending his 13-month wait for a win. “Being out front and getting the job done, especially with giving some [shots] back and having to fight back,” he replied.