Fowler a major player, not a major champ
PEBBLE BEACH — Sergio Garcia won a major. So did Justin Thomas, one of Rickie Fowler’s good buddies. Another pal, Jordan Spieth, won three. Brooks Koepka won so many majors so quickly, he abruptly zoomed into another realm.
So when will Fowler’s time come? When will he finally walk off the 18th green, on one of golf ’s biggest stages, and accept warm congratulations from his tour pro friends, rather than the other way around?
Those are questions without concrete answers, as the Best Player Without a Major brings his perpetual search to Pebble Beach for this week’s U.S. Open. Fowler is 30, still a fan favorite and still unfailingly gracious about his curious place in the game’s galaxy.
He has five PGA Tour victories and more than $37 million in career earnings. Fowler stands No. 11 in this week’s world ranking; of the 10 players above him, only Patrick Cantlay (No. 8), Bryson DeChambeau (9) and Xander Schauffele (10) also are majorless.
But they haven’t been on the scene as long as Fowler, teasing and tantalizing and threatening. And they don’t carry themselves as stylishly as Fowler does, from his unconventional childhood habit (for a golfer) of riding dirt bikes to his long hair and cool demeanor.
Asked how he views this Best Player Without a Major conversation, Fowler didn’t flinch.
“It’s a compliment in a way,” he said Monday, after playing a nine-hole practice round at Pebble Beach. “Obviously, there are a lot of great players who haven’t won a major. It’s not necessarily something I think about or worry about. I know when the time is right, it’s going to happen. …
“If I don’t win a major, that’s not going to necessarily define me. Do I want to win a major? Yes. I would love to and then knock off some more after that. … I’m looking forward to it, especially the last few years with how comfortable the major weeks have felt. It’s just a matter of time.”
In 2014, Fowler repeatedly put himself in prime position. He finished in the top five in all four majors that year, posting the lowest cumulative score of any player in golf ’s marquee events.
Oddly enough, there’s no trophy for this distinction.
Fowler pointed to the 2014 PGA Championship as probably his best chance. He was in the mix down the stretch, made a costly bogey on the back nine and ultimately tied for third, two shots behind Rory McIlroy.
“I wouldn’t say I’ve necessarily had one in my hands and let it slip away, which is a good thing,” Fowler said. “But we have to go get ourselves one, because we’ve been in the position enough times where it could have gone the other way.”
Fowler also gave himself a chance at last year’s Masters, in which he shot 65-67 on the weekend to push Patrick Reed. Fowler finished alone in second place, one stroke behind Reed and one ahead of Spieth.
This year, Fowler tied for ninth at the Masters and tied for 36th at the PGA. He has five top-10s, including a win at the Phoenix Open in February.
He doesn’t bring much personal history at Pebble Beach, given his habit of skipping the AT&T Pro-Am. Fowler hasn’t played in the event since 2012, when he missed the cut. He prefers to play in the tournaments in San Diego and Scottsdale, Ariz., the previous two weeks.
Fowler considered adding the AT&T to his schedule this year, to check out Pebble ahead of the Open, but he decided the conditions in February wouldn’t tell him much about how it might look in June.
Part of Fowler’s appeal to fans probably stems from his open happiness for his friends when they win what he craves. Spieth won majors and there was Fowler to greet him afterward. He similarly stuck around to see Thomas after he won the 2017 PGA, and he also was among the players who lingered to congratulate Tiger Woods after his Masters victory in April.
If there’s karma in golf, all of these players will reciprocate when Fowler finally sheds the Best Player Without a Major label.
“He’ll be fine,” Thomas said. “He’ll get his when it’s his time. … He’s obviously shown he’s plenty good enough to do it. And when it does happen, hopefully I’ll be right there saying congrats to him, just like he did for me at the PGA.”