It’s Rickie Fowler‘s birthday! The 6X PGA Tour winner is celebrating his 36th birth anniversary at the Tiburón Golf Club in Naples, Florida as he was preparing for the 2024 Grant Thornton Invitational. Just hours before the tournament was about to begin, Fowler and his caddie were chatting over the course.

That’s when he received a surprise from his partner in the tournament, Lexi Thompson. The retiring LPGA Tour pro was seen approaching the Fowler as all the cameras pointed towards him. Thompson was also carrying a cake with her along the way before she handed it to her partner.

Thompson tried her best to ensure that the candles wouldn’t blow out before reaching Fowler. However, the wind played a spoilt sport which made her worried, wondering how she could save the situation. However, like a true gentleman, Fowler still pretended to blow out the candles as he thanked Thompson for the sweet gesture.

During the entire situation, fans on the course were singing the trademark ‘Happy Birthday’ song to Rickie Fowler. They also cheered out loud once Fowler received the cake and you could hear everyone was amused after he pretended to blow out the candles.

The entire scene was captured by the media and the video was posted on the LPGA Tour’s official X account just a few minutes ago. The caption read, “A big birthday celebration on the first tee 🥳@Lexi gave a cake to @RickieFowler to help him celebrate 🎂 @PGATOUR | @GrantThorntonUS.” The post received a lot of love and a few comments commending Lexi Thompson’s gesture.

It’s wonderful to see that professional golfers are still not losing sight of what’s important despite being in the doorway of some thrilling competition. Hopefully, fans get to see a lot more of this throughout the tournament. One thing Rickie Fowler, Lexi Thompson, and the fans would definitely see is high-intensity action. So what does the first round of the tournament look like?

Rickie Fowler & Lexi Thompson tee off

The teams will be kicking off in pairs starting with Cameron Champ & Mel Reid, who are paired with J.T. Poston & Maja Stark. Next in line will be Matthieu Pavon & Celine Boutier along with Akshay Bhatia & Jennifer Kupcho. The last three pairs will be the most exciting to watch for many fans as Tom Kim & Atthaya Thikikul will tee off with Corey Conners & Brooke Henderson.

All eyes will be set on Rickie Fowler & Lexi Thompson who will begin the tournament alongside Sahith Theegala & Allisen Corpuz. Lastly, Daniel Berger & Nelly Korda will line up with defending champions Jason Day & Lydia Ko. Yes, Charley Hull is not participating in the tournament. She has decided to take a break from professional golf and is spending time with her family and friends while also teeing off at her local golf courses back home.

As the tournament has already begun, the remaining first round of the 2024 Grant Thornton Invitational can be watched on the Golf Channel. From day 2 onwards, the broadcast will be split between the Golf Channel, NBC, & Peacock. You can check the broadcast schedule for the specific details. Streaming will be available on the NBC Sports app throughout the tournament.