It is familiar territory for Rickie Fowler this week. The six-time PGA Tour winner is back home prepping for the upcoming Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches. He is one of the eight former winners to take part in the upcoming tournament and this familiar setting has come at the right time for the Florida resident who has had a difficult few years on the tour.

Before the situation, Fowler was asked by Damon Hack, a reporter for Golf Channel about what his expectations are for the second half of the PGA Tour. Fowler, who is currently 35, is in the middle of what one could say is golfing prime. His answer was pretty straightforward. “In the current situation, you always want more um but it’s definitely been a fun ride and um a lot of very cool and special memories,” Fowler expressed his thoughts candidly.

That’s the right kind of mentality to have. Fowler added, “It all kind of lines up in the win column, more wins. That’s why we’re out here. We’re all trying to compete and getting in contention to hold trophies come Sunday afternoon or night.”

Golf Insiders have words of advice for Rickie Fowler

On the PGA Tour, Fowler did have a golden period. Between 2014 and 2016, the Oklahoma State University grad was dominating the course, notching 2 PGA Tour victories. He also had this amazing stretch in 2024 when he finished top 5 at all the Majors that year, announcing himself to the golfing fraternity. But that seems like it happened ages ago for the golfer. Damon Hack thinks so, stating, “It feels far away, much farther away than it did in 2014 when he had the four straight top five finishes in major championships. Of late he has one top five finish you mentioned at the Los Angeles Country Club in his last 20 major championship starts.”

If there is someone’s career that Rickie Fowler can learn from, it is Darren Clarke. Clarke had only two PGA Tour Titles and no Major till 2010. Nearly eight years after his last title, Clarke won his first and only major, the Open Championship in 2011. Damon Hack thinks that Clarke is someone from whom Fowler can learn about adversity and deal with it. “It almost feels like he’s a player who would maybe need to pull a Darren Clarke maybe kind of coming out of nowhere in this era of Scottie Scheffler in this era of Xander Schauffele.” Scheffler and Schauffele have won three of the last four majors and are currently 1 and 2 in the Official World Golf Rankings List.

Tripp Isenhour was full of praise for Fowler, saying that his talent is there. Of course, the 2008 Ben Hogan award recipient can be no slouch and his initial years on the Tour are a clear indication of it.“I think that Ricky still got the talent to do it. I know he works very hard. There’s no question about it.”

But the former PGA Tour had some advice for Fowler. Isenhour suggested that he will need to regulate his workflow and identify key areas he can improve and work on it, rather than blindly working. “You’ve got to balance and maybe work less and work smarter in the right areas and I think that could be the recipe for him.”

Isenhour also gave a short message, summing up his entire thought process in eight words, saying, “Instead of just the laboring enjoy the process.”Considering that his current form is in question, maybe a change in approach similar to what Isenhour suggested could be the key for Rickie Fowler. After all the year is not really going her way.

Rickie Fowler’s 2025 PGA Tour season

His season has started testily. Including last year and this year, the six-time PGA Tour winner has played in 27 events of which he has only made the top 10 once, at the ZOZO championship in November 2024. This year has been difficult as well.

His best finish came at his first event of the year, the American Express Open, where he finished T21. He finished a disappointing T53 at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and also ended up T39 at the Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines. He had also withdrawn after 1 round from the Waste Management Phoenix Open held in Arizona. Not a good look so far.

He is also participating in the TGL where his team, the New York Golf Club, currently sits 4th with only one win. Fowler has the talent to pull through, that is something the golfing world knows very well. He would need to trust the process and take it step by step. Do you think Fowler will break his drought this year and possibly claim a major title?