Despite Suffering a Heartbreak at the US Open, Rickie Fowler Enjoys a Massive Breakthrough For the First Time in Years

PGA Tour pro Rickie Fowler, has a lot of accolades to his name. For 36 straight weeks in 2007-08, he maintained his position as the Number 1 Amateur Golfer, and that was a worldwide honor. Two years later in 2010, he earned the title of ‘Rookie of the Year.’ Between capturing second place at the four major tournaments and winning 5 PGA Tour titles over the years, it is safe to say that Fowler expects a lot from himself. So do his fans.

Now, as the latest US Open came to an end, Fowler’s fans were hoping he will take home the title. Sadly, Fowler relinquished the title to Wyndham Clark, but it was not a day of complete loss for the former boyband member of ‘Golf Boys.’ He achieved one of his other goals instead.

Rickie Fowler remains steady in the face of competition

During the 2023 US Open at the Los Angeles Country Club, Rickie delivered consistently improving results. His Par score was 62, 68, 70, and 75 in the respective four rounds. His progress was steady, and he astounded fans with each shot.

However, by the end of the event, the California-born golfer finished in T5 alongside Tommy Fleetwood and Min Woo Lee. This did not stop Fowler from sharing a word or two of encouragement with winner Wyndham Clark. He reminded Clark that his mother would have been proud no matter how he played. It provided Wyndham with the motivation he needed to shoot to first place.

Good deeds are always rewarded, and Rickie’s karma paid out. This is not to say that his hard work had less to do with it, but he achieved at least one of his many goals at the end of the US Open 2023.

True, the title is every golfer’s coveted dream, especially during Major tournaments and the PGA Tour.

Read More: Why Rickie Fowler is the Most ‘Wholehearted’ Golfer on the PGA Tour – EssentiallySports

But any player worth their salt knows that they need both long-term and short-term goals. One of Rickie’s long-term goals is to top the OWGR leaderboard, and this season at the Los Angeles Country Club he took a huge step in that direction.

Rickie was steadily increasing his rank in small strides, going back and forth with every match he played. But this time, his fans’ good wishes and Fowler’s never-give-up attitude won out. He made a massive leap from 45 to 35. He is now in the top 35 officially ranked golfers in the world according to OWGR.

The Ben Hogan Award winner was profoundly shocked and beyond excited. He finally took a major step toward his everlasting goal and from here, he can almost see the horizon. No doubt, he still has a long way to go, but Fowler is gracious for his accomplishment at the moment.

Fowler’s steady climb up the OWGR since the beginning of 2023

In these past 3 years, since the PGA Tour Traveler’s Championship in 2021, Rickie climbed to the 95th rank on the Official World Golf Ranking Board. This was the beginning of his ascent to cross off major milestones to the top of the list. Since then, Fowler played in 40 PGA Tours, 1 World Golf Championship, and 4 Major Championships including the 2023 US Open. During the course of these 2 years, his plan did not go as expected and he fumbled many times, falling as low as to the 173rd rank from 167 during the FedEx St. Jude Championship of the PGA Tour. But he refused to give up.

Finally, his efforts started to pay off again at the dawn of 2023. He made it back to double figures from a rank of 111 to 99 during the Farmer’s Insurance Open. From there he has steadily been rising through the ranks with small strides, faltering only once during the PGA Championship, when he fell from 49 to 52. But he quickly recovered at the Charles Schwab Challenge, bringing his rank up to 46.

From there he managed to climb up the leaderboard to 44. Then came the US Open 2023. It was touch and go for a while and Fowler along with fans was anticipating how far up or down the Official rankings he would go this time.

Fortunately, it worked out in his favor and Rickie Fowler jumped to the 35th rank on the OWGR.

Do you think Rickie will get to the Number 1 rank on the OWGR soon or will he take the ‘two-steps forward, one-step back’ approach again? Share your thoughts with us in the comments down below.

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