Time has not been Rickie Fowler’s best friend for some time now and no one is a stranger to his woes. Despite getting into signature events through sponsor exemptions, the results were just not…THAT! However, 2025 seems to be his ally, at least now. The 6-time PGA Tour champion started showing his true skills from The Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines where he bagged a prize money of $82,000 and a T39 ranking earlier this week. And seems like he is continuing to put his money where his mouth is.

Fowler’s New York Golf Club started the inaugural TGL season with a difficult time and a flurry of back-to-back losses. First, it was to Shane Lowry and The Bay GC who took the win 9-2. Despite the loss, the 37-year-old could not help but appreciate the innovative golfing event ideated and brought to life by the GOAT Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, “Set (the result aside), it was really cool walking into an arena and doing what we got to do there. We all wish it would have went a bit differently, but this is something fun.”

And while his promise from the WM Phoenix Open earlier this year to “play better than last year” did not exactly work yet, with the NYGC again losing 0-4 to the Atlanta Drive GC who secured the win on the 12th hole itself. But, the tides turned just when it mattered the most. The Big Apple team bested The Jupiter Links GC led by Woods 3-10. With this, they overtook The Jupiter and moved to the fourth rank from the sixth, securing a playoff contention. However, the victory was even more impressive that one of the most lethal weapons in the team, Xander Schauffele, is still on the bench while Matt Fitzpatrick, Fowler, and Cameron Young pushed the team to just cross the playoff cut. And as the team plans to take on the LAGC next, Fowler has some updates for all.

Halfway through the tournament, Fowler teased a comeback next week, locked in for the LA Golf Club showdown. It’s ‘work hard, play hard’ time. When asked in the post-match press conference, “I know you’ve committed to the Cognizant, which is next week, and you’re playing here, I believe, Monday in TGL. What will this event and this league do for the Cognizant and vice versa with them both being in Palm Beach Gardens next week?” Fowler responded, “Yeah, I’m looking forward to next week, one, with earlier Monday I’ll play in Jack’s pro-am at Bear’s Club, follow it up with TGL at night and then roll into the Cognizant. So it’s a week I always look forward to.”

Eight days ago, the news broke that the hometown favorite Fowler will be returning to Palm Beach Gardens for the 15th time. The 2017 winner of the event will be busy there from Feb 26th itself. He will have to juggle his schedule with the Jack’s Pro-Am and also the upcoming matches in TGL where NYGC will see LA on Feb 24th and then Boston Common Golf on March 3rd. A busy week for Fowler indeed! But he is excited!

He further added, “Fun being able to sleep in your own bed and play a tournament. We actually have an outing out there tomorrow at PGA National, so may use that as a little bit of a practice round, so I may not have to go on the site potentially until Wednesday because part of it is resting up, making sure that I’ll be good to go with all the lead-up and the stuff on Monday.

“But I feel like being in here and playing in TGL, it’s definitely a different setting, different kind of nerves when you’re stepping up to hit shots and the fast pace of it. But that can also be something maybe come Thursday morning or afternoon when I’m teeing off, I’ll just tee it up and go and I’ll have already had a few shots under the gun.”

TGL is indeed a new concept with playing in an arena with live audience checking out everyone’s moves. This is exciting many participating golfers. Ludvig Aberg talked about the experience after his win over Fowler, “It was awesome. I always said I was so jealous of basketball and football players because they get to do this a lot and we don’t. So this whole stadium-like feel is awesome to be a part of, and it gets you going a little bit differently from a normal golf tournament.”

At the same time, his teammate Shane Lowry also reflected the same, “The last time I’ve had that much fun was probably last September [2023 Ryder Cup]. Look, I had an amazing two hours.” He even shared a photo with Aberg and Wyndham Clark with the caption, “Fun night with the lads 💪🏻.”

And Rickie Fowler winning his first TGL match was certainly all excited. Talking about the team’s performance in the ninth match and the chances of making it to the playoffs brighter than ever, he said reflected on the win, “We all knew that we were going to need — I think we knew it was kind of unspoken thing. We were going to need a big night at some point to at least kind of get the mojo going and the momentum the right way. Nice to do it tonight versus waiting for a match or two.”

The top four teams in the SoFi standings will make it to the playoffs which means the NYGC now has one goal: to be in the fourth position for good until the next two matches wrap up! The semifinals will run through Monday, March 17 and Tuesday, March 18 while the Final series games will be on March 24 and 25 with a conditional match 3 later on March 25 itself.

As the team pumps with good adrenaline, they seem on the way to the trophy without the world no. 2. But with the comeback planned by the team, will Xander be a part of it in the coming final days of the event?

Xander Schauffele’s return update: When will the World no. 2 return?

Xander has kept injuries at bay for most of his career and given that he is coming off of a huge year with two major wins under his belt, the star wanted more events under his name. However, the acute intercostal strain/ micro tear during the offseason soured his plans. Earlier, the two-time major winner was aiming to “play next week at the WM Phoenix Open, but right now, he is targeting coming back for the Genesis, which is now going to be in his hometown of San Diego at Torrey Pines,” as per Lewis. However, given that the Genesis Invitational changed its venue to Torrey Pines, known for its unforgiving nature, he took a step back. Now, he is taking more time to get fit and start playing.

Taking his name back from the Torrey Pines event, Xander said, “With really thick rough, I could potentially re-injure myself. Everyone I’ve talked to said the worst thing you can do is come back to soon. Guys have told me about being hurt 6-12 weeks later. I don’t want to deal with a stop and go. Once I’m back, I just want to go. I’ve been instructed to be patient and make sure I’m 100 percent.”

Still, Xander Schauffele did share good news with Golfweek a few days ago. He is aiming to participate at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which will tee off on March 6-9 at Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Florida. Speaking about his recovery, he said, “I need a little more TLC — especially at 31 versus 25 — and make sure everything is oiled correctly. I thought I’d be fine and kept going and played through it at Sentry and at the first TGL match. I was pretty much tapped. I knew it was getting significantly worse and needed time off.”

The Masters are closing in and certainly the 31-year-old wants to show off his best self in the year’s first major event. Now, with his news of returning to the course, it will be interesting to see how he takes his 2024 form ahead. What are your thoughts on it? Share with us in the comments section below.