Golf is a game of meritocracy. But with players exemption in place, here’s your new headline: Play better or play smart! What if you have one power card that can turn the tides in your favor? Because Rickie Fowler might be calling in the favors yet again! Back in 2021, we saw a similar case, only Rickie here made the most of it, tying for 8th at the PGA Championship, followed by a rinse but not exactly a repeat in 2022 when the 36-year-old finished T55 after slipping through the ranks (118) at the Genesis Invitational.

Come 2025, Fowler and ‘the usual suspects,’ as some would call it, have been handed the first cab off the ranks in its 99th edition. Rickie is most certainly aware of the accusations which is why it isn’t surprising when he said, “You’re still gonna hear some stuff once in a while” to Kira Dixon of Golf Today just this Wednesday. Dixon was at the TPC Scottsdale where the ‘boys club’ has reunited for another swing in the league’s rowdiest party of the year.

Except for Justin Rose from the ‘boys club,’ who too has the exemption card at the Torrey Pines Golf Course this time, Rickie Fowler, Gary Woodland, and Jordan Spieth will join defending Phoenix Open champion Nick Taylor. But before he flies to LA, the murmurs have not all been positive, nevertheless, Fowler displayed a clear understanding of what lies in front of him. The 2019 WM Phoenix Open winner finds himself in a comfortable “atmosphere” at TPC Scottsdale, having played at the WM Phoenix Open since he was an amateur on the circuit. He said,

“This is my 17 WMPO. It is a special event. I always love coming here.” Special, sure, but he decided to take it a notch higher when he commemorated the special event with a major fashion statement. A camo outfit, to be precise, from a recent collaboration between Puma and Realtree Golf. Well, someone had to take the reins from Jason Day who isn’t at this week’s event, and Rickie here stepped up big time.

The 2024 PGA Tour season was one fraught with difficulties for Fowler. He only managed one top 10 finish in the entire season. His best results included finishing T18 at the RBC Heritage and T20 at the Travelers Championship. This was definitely playing in his mind, as Kira Dixon asked, “For you, personally, entering into this new season, what are the goals looking like?” He gave a simple answer in just 5 words: “Play better than last year.” He explained it as his “first and foremost” goal. Simple it might be, but it outlines clearly where his mindset was.

You see, he played in 23 events last season on the PGA Tour circuit and he only missed 6 cuts. That means that he is doing his job on Thursday and Friday. It is the weekends that keep betraying the 36-year-old. And Fowler knows that, “I felt like I didn’t get off to too bad a start last year. I just didn’t take advantage of weekends or when I was in a decent spot. So, yeah, play a little bit better. Last week, didn’t have a great weekend, and you move backwards that’s what happens out here.”

And his woes seem to have transferred to this season. After an average outing at the American Express Open, where he finished T21, Fowler stumbled hard at Pebble Beach. The Oklahoma State University alum finished a disappointing T53. He was a brilliant 7 under par at the end of Friday but scored 1 over par across the Saturday and Sunday rounds showing that his old problems on weekends are back.

His OWGR dropped to 85 after the result. The poor form had some fans questioning his exemption to the Genesis Invitational but Fowler is in the right mindset. He believes that his game is slowly improving and he just needs a few things to click to get back to where he was. Do you guys remember the magical 2014 season, where Rickie Fowler finished top 5 at all the majors he took part in? “I don’t feel like I am far off. I feel like the way I am swinging, some really good golf’s right around the corner. This wouldn’t be a bad place to get it going.”

Clearly, this is what he wants the fans to know. Well, he was not the only one to have the conversation about the biased treatment started.

Jordan Spieth too was accused of being a boys club member

The annual Tour stop in LA, Genesis Invitational, will take a detour from its home Riviera Country Club this year and come to the South Course of the Torrey Pines due to the fires in Los Angeles. While everyone is already waiting for the event hosted by Tiger Woods and the Tiger Woods Foundation, given its unique yet devilish architecture of the short par 4, a few weeks before the scheduled start, the tournament found itself in the headlines.

Interestingly, just a week before the tip off, the fifth-year host and the PGA Tour have granted exemption to Jordan Spieth (84th). If you’re wondering why the fact is intriguing, it is because just one year ago, Spieth was disqualified from the event for signing an incorrect scorecard after Round 2 at Riviera.

Joining the 13-time PGA Tour winner will be Rickie Fowler (85th world rank), Justin Rose (33rd), and Gary Woodland (182nd) who will join the other 68 play to tee it up at Torrey Pines. Given that only the top 50 players from the PGA Tour’s FedEx points list, 10 players from Aon Next 10, and 5 from the Aon Swing 5 are eligible for the cut, none of these veterans made the cut to enter the limited field event. But with the green flag, this signature event will mean more money ($20M total prize purse to be exact) and exposure to media. The idea of sponsor exemptions was to ensure young up-and-coming players get to rub shoulders and fight against the best golfers. So, naturally, granting exemptions to veterans did not sit well with fans.

Fowler and Spieth, got the brunt of the criticisms, with fans bringing up their recent performances. Spieth for one, has one had one top-20 finish last year and couldn’t bring his A-game to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am earlier this year either. The 32-year-old sponsored by AT&T finished T69 of 78 total participants where he was yet again invited through sponsor exemption. There also seems to be some distaste regarding their ‘Boys Club’ power group coming into play.

As for Fowler, his interview with Kira Dixon shows that he is confident to turn a corner. We might see evidence of that at the People’s Open, set to start this Thursday. What do you think?