Rickie Fowler gets long-awaited win at Rocket Mortgage Classic
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Rickie Fowler dedicated his win to his wife Allison Stokke, and his young daughter, Maya, who was born in late 2021.
PHOTO: AFP
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DETROIT – Rickie Fowler birdied the first play-off hole to beat Collin Morikawa and Adam Hadwin at the Rocket Mortgage Classic on Sunday, claiming his first PGA Tour since the 2019 Phoenix Open.
Fowler entered the final round in Detroit with a one-stroke lead over Canada’s Hadwin and birdied the 18th hole to shoot a four-under 68 and finish at 24-under 264. He went bogey-free, as did Hadwin (67) and Morikawa, who had eight birdies on the day to finish with a 64 and force the play-off.
The trio returned to the 474-yard 18th hole to begin sudden death, which Fowler ended with his birdie. It was his sixth Tour title and his first since becoming a father.
He dedicated his win to his family, including his wife, former professional track and field athlete Allison Stokke, and his daughter, Maya, born in late 2021.
“It’s hard to really put into words. Obviously a lot of good stuff this year. I’ve been playing some good golf, so I knew it was just a matter of time with how I’ve been playing,” Fowler, who was co-leader at the US Open after three rounds but finished tied-fifth, said on the Golf Network broadcast.
“I’ve had a couple of tough weekends where I’ve had a chance, you know. At the US Open, I didn’t get it done but, at the end of the day, getting to hang with (daughter) Maya and my wife – winning is great but there’s a lot more to life than that.”
Fowler took time after the win to thank the fans, who were forced to put up with delays and last-minute changes to tee times due to inclement weather in recent days.
“Just wanted to say thank you to the fans. You guys were amazing,” he said in a video posted by the tournament on Twitter.
“Felt the energy all week. Just appreciate all the support. You guys were always there with me. Bummed that we couldn’t be outside with you to celebrate, but we’ll be back, and plenty more good times.”
Fowler, 34, won the 2015 Players Championship but has struggled in recent years, falling to 185th in the world rankings in 2022 before reviving his form this season with nine top-20 finishes in his past 10 events.
“Had to keep putting the time in, keep grinding, keep pushing,” the world No. 23 said.
“Then started to see some positive results and to build some confidence and momentum last fall. It was a nice moment just to kind of feel like the weight on my shoulders was finally off.”
For his fellow American Morikawa, this is his seventh runner-up finish in 94 PGA Tour starts. The 2020 PGA Championship and 2021 British Open winner has not won a PGA event since capturing the Claret Jug at Royal St. George’s. His most recent triumph was at the European Tour’s season-ending championship at Dubai in November 2021.
“This is kind of the golf I wanted to play. Today, I thought I played really well; first three days, it was pretty mediocre,” Morikawa said.
“It’s kind of the old Collin hopefully back, just knowing that we’re going to keep it in front of myself, give myself some looks, and when putts go in and shots are a little closer, we have days like today.”
Hadwin is a runner-up for the fifth time in 239 starts.
“I did a lot of really good things today,” he said. “I’m proud of the way I kept going and had some fun with it, stayed loose and just enjoyed the moment. Hopefully, this is a sign of good things to come.” REUTERS, AFP
