Golf

Rickie Fowler wins Rocket Mortgage Classic – Twitter is Loving It

July 2, 2023 10:29 pm
Rickie Fowler wins Rocket Mortgage Classic – Twitter is Loving It
July 2, 2023; Detroit, MI, USA; Rickie Fowler, right, and his caddie Ricky Romano react after a birdie putt on the 18th green to win the Rocket Mortgage Classic in a playoff against Adam Hadwin and Collin Morikawa at Detroit Golf Club on Sunday, July 2, 2023. Mandatory Credit: Kirthmon F. Dozier-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA - Photo by Icon sport

After 1,610 days, Rickie Fowler can once again call himself a champion on the PGA Tour with his win at the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club on Sunday. The victory is the 34-year-old’s sixth on tour, but first as a husband and father. His last triumph came at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February 2019.

His final round of 4-under 68 capped off a nice week with previous scores of 67, 65 and 64. The fan-favorite caused an eruption on social media with his come-back win in a playoff over Collin Morikawa and Adam Hadwin. We’ll take you through his win and showcase Twitter’s reaction below.

How it Happened

The Oklahoma State product, Fowler, came into Sunday at 20-under par with the 54-hole lead, one stroke over Adam Hadwin and four over Collin Morikawa. On Sunday, Morikawa was the first to enter the clubhouse with the lead at 24-under. Hadwin and Fowler were in the same group, and a par from the Canadian got him into the playoff. Fowler made a clutch birdie on the 18th after sticking his wedge shot to a few feet to join the two in sudden death.

The native of Murrieta, California, drove his tee shot on the opening hole of the playoff (No. 18) into the rough but was able to hit his approach to within 12 feet, leaving himself an uphill putt. After the other two players missed their birdie attempts, Fowler drained his attempt for the birdie and claimed the victory.

A Difficult Road

Fowler’s past few years on tour have certainly been challenging. He fell out of the top 100 of the Official Golf World Rankings in 2022 and failed to qualify for a few majors, including the 2023 Masters. Many people in the golf world wouldn’t have expected to see the former No. 4 ranked player competing at Monday qualifiers for majors.

The 14-year tour veteran linked up with legendary coach Butch Harmon and endured a swing change as well as a putter change which all have aided him in regaining his form.

Knocking on the door of a victory

Winning on the PGA Tour is extremely hard to do. As cliché as it sounds, defeating a field of 155 other golfers is no easy feat. Fowler came close at last month’s U.S. Open after holding the 54-hole lead. He also held one lead in two other events in the prior two years.

This season, Fowler had been contending often, accumulating seven top-10 finishes heading into this week.

The Story Told Through Twitter

Twitter Reaction

Fowler’s good friend Justin Thomas (fellow pro), along with Michael Kim, reacted to his successful day.

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