For more than four years, he went without a win. All of that came to an end at the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic when he clinched his sixth PGA Tour victory. Rickie Fowler crossed his arms over his club, looked up with a smile, and raised his putter to a flock of enthusiastic fans. Little did he know back then that he wouldn’t be able to defend his title the following year. But now, the main question is whether he is willing to use the loss behind him to gear up for the next event on the 2024 calendar.

The John Deere Classic will kick off on Thursday, July 4, with a total of 156 golfers. Fowler’s name, however, is not part of the field, as per the official list. The golfer, thus, will not be playing at the upcoming event that is set to take place at TPC Deere Run.

Coming back to the Rocket Mortgage Classic, the former Oklahoma State Cowboy failed to defend his title as he finished with a score of 9-under 279. He placed himself tied at T31 with 12 golfers, including the likes of Jake Knapp, Ryo Hisatsune, and Beau Hossler, among others. The finish could only card him a total of 1.55917, causing him to fall in rankings on the OWGR, from No. 50 to No. 52.

This remains a stark contrast to the athlete’s 2023 performance, where he scored a 24-under overall to tie with Adam Hadwin and Collin Morikawa. He won by carding a birdie on the par-4, 18th playoff hole. The final shot increased his total number of birdies in the tournament to 27, along 5 bogeys and 1 eagle.

This, again, shows too much of a sharp difference, as the golfer could only dish out a total of 18 birdies, along with 9 bogeys, over the four days of play this year at the tournament. Meanwhile, the display of golf, coupled with his other finishes this season, has pushed the 35-year-old out of the top 70 of the FedEx Cup standings.

Rickie Fowler’s precarious position on the FedEx Cup standings

The 6-time PGA Tour champ is currently placed at the 93rd position on the FedEx Cup standings. From the 18 events he played this season, Rickie Fowler has only finished inside the top 25 in two of them. He did so with a T20 at the Travelers Championship and a T18 at the RBC Heritage. Out of the rest, the golfer has unfortunately missed the cut in five of them, including the third major of the season, the U.S. Open.

The American pro would end up missing the playoffs if he didn’t dish out his best in the remaining few weeks. The PGA Tour had, in 2023, changed the criteria of qualification for the FedEx St. Jude Championship and limited the athletes to the top 70 of the standings instead of 125. This spells dangerous for Fowler, who currently doesn’t sport the required points.