Will Jay Monahan & Co. be in trouble again? The PGA Tour has had many of its biggest stars withdraw from the events this season. Things got so bad that even the sponsors started questioning Jay Monahan and his team about the situation. However, the issue seemed to have been temporarily resolved during the 2025 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am which saw a huge turnout on the course. The tournament was a major hit with $3.3 million fans tuning in to watch Rory McIlroy lift the title. This was the second most watched final round of a PGA Tour event.

But it seems that things are back to square one at the ongoing WM Phoenix Open. As reported by NUCLR GOLF, there has been another major withdrawal from the tournament. The big-name player that has backed away from the event is Rickie Fowler. As confirmed by the news outlet, “🚨❌⛳️ #FIELD UPDATE — Rickie Fowler has WD from the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
@RickieLegion”. Just 5 minutes later, they posted another tweet stating, “Official reason announced: illness”.

It is worth noting that Rickie Fowler has faced a lot of criticism recently due to his recent actions. Even the most mundane issues like his outfit choice for the 2025 WM Phoenix Open had received a lot of heat from the fans. Could this have contributed to Fowler’s decision to drop out of the event?

The real reason behind Rickie Fowler’s exit is still a mystery. But since we’re on the subject, maybe his performance in the tournament might tell us something.

How has Rickie Fowler performed at the 2025 WM Phoenix Open?

Could there be another reason Rickie Fowler has withdrawn from the 2025 WM Phoenix Open? Many PGA Tour pros have recently been struck with illness, which led to their withdrawal. As we have mentioned, Ludvig Aberg was one of them last week. But to give him credit, he did look miserable throughout the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am before he tapped out of the event.

But when it comes to Rickie Fowler, it seems that bad form might have also contributed to his exit. If we look at his performance in the first round of the tournament, we can see that he was quite far away from the projected cut line so far. In the first round, Fowler managed to sink 3 bogeys and 1 double bogey to end up with a 3-over par 74. This ensured that he would end up at the lower end of the table, 4 strokes away from the projected cut line.

Alternatively, the 6x PGA Tour champion was also a favorite going into the tournament. He was touted to be a sleeper winner this weekend by the USA Today. Maybe, Fowler would have stayed on had he not had such a bad start, been criticized recently or wasn’t under pressure to win the event. But this is all just speculation and the Murrieta local must have genuinely fallen so ill that he couldn’t compete any further.

Considering all the information, do you think Rickie Fowler genuinely withdrew from the 2025 WM Phoenix Open due to illness? Share your views in the comments section.