Rickie Fowler has not received an exemption for the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational! The entire golf community was distraught that he was not favored by the sponsors. Others have been criticizing the favoritism in the PGA Tour. But no one would have thought that he wouldn’t be allowed to play in the tournament at all. So, it’s still shocking, even though many hours have passed since the exemptions were announced. They also didn’t include fan favorite Jordan Spieth.

As upsetting as the headline may read, Fowler shouldn’t dwell on it for too long. Especially when he can qualify for the tournament on merit. The Rickie Fowler Tracker account has just shared how the Californian can make it to the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Masters Tournament in the coming weeks. The tweet reads “🚨 Arnold Palmer Inv Update 🚨 Based on looking at some new numbers, Rickie will need a SOLO 4th or better to qualify for next week. Lots of questions about what OWGR with a Top 5 / WIN would do: 5th: 80th 3rd: 67th 2nd: 57th Win: Inside Top 40 Reminder: TOP 50 OWGR before Valero gets into Augusta. Of course he were to win today he’d secure that spot. 🔒”. Yes, there is still hope for Fowler.

After the end of the 3rd round, the 36-year-old was at T6, only a few strokes away from the top in the 2025 Cognizant Classic. If he does rise up to solo 4th or better, then he will book his ticket to the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational. And a win from now till the Valero Texas Open will also help him secure a spot in the Masters Tournament. It’s safe to say, the ball is in Rickie Fowler’s court. It’s up to him how he plays it now.

Rickie Fowler did express how “bummed” he was for not receiving an exemption a few hours ago. But he knows what he has to do, and that is “play better”. Looks like Fowler has already started on the path of qualifying for the tournaments on merit even before his tracker account on X shared the information.

The upcoming Signature event is still at arm’s length. But what are the 6x PGA Tour winner’s chances of qualifying for the 2025 Masters Tournament? Let’s find out.

Rickie Fowler’s goals from now till April 10

As the Rickie Fowler Tracker account stated, he only needs 1 win to make it to the tournament easily. Apart from that, he can also enter the top 50 of the world rankings to make it happen. Let’s assume Fowler does miss the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational. Then he will have 4 more shots to earn an entry ticket to the green jacket event. Unfortunately, he has only won 1 of those tournaments in the past. 10 years ago, Rickie Fowler captured the Players Championship. He beat Sergio Garcia and Kevin Kisner in playoffs in the 2015 Signature event.

He also won the Cognizant Classic in 2017, when it was known as The Honda Classic. So from now till his possible trip to Augusta National, Rickie Fowler will need to either win these two events as he has done before or go all the way at the Valspar Championship, Houston Open, or Valero Texas Open to confirm his place.

Does Rickie Fowler qualify for the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Masters Tournament on merit this year? Let us know in the comments section.