Rickie Fowler plays a shot during the first round of the 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. | Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Rickie Fowler did not have his ‘A-game’ during the month of January, but he is off to a solid start this week at Pebble Beach.
Rickie Fowler had a career revival in 2023, winning the Rocket Mortgage Classic and recording eight top 10s. His triumph in Detroit marked his first victory since 2019.
But that success has not carried over into 2024, at least not yet. He missed the cut at The American Express and finished fourth to last at The Sentry.
Despite that, Fowler finally re-discovered his form during the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He shot a 5-under 67 at Spyglass Hill, which included zero bogies.
“[I have been] trying to put some work in the last few weeks,” Fowler admitted.
“Ball-striking just hasn’t been very good. So I’ve been working on [that], but getting the new driver in play with Cobra, which I’m very happy with right now. I think you could see I drove it halfway decent…
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Rickie Fowler and Tommy Fleetwood shake hands after the opening round of the 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
“So that was one of the biggest things, getting back to hitting the ball in the middle of the face with a square clubface, and that was something that’s been a bit of a struggle the last few weeks.”
Fowler did not struggle to find the middle of the face on Thursday as he paraded around Spyglass Hill. He sits in a tie for sixth, four strokes behind solo leader Thomas Detry, who carded a 9-under 63 Thursday.
His strong play Thursday can be attributed to his recent work with legendary coach Butch Harmon.
Although Fowler did not visit him in Las Vegas over the past month, they have exchanged videos, with Harman providing insight and answering questions. Harman has been in touch with Fowler “quite a bit,” which has undoubtedly helped his game and boosted his confidence.
That should help lift Fowler out of his recent funk, and who knows, maybe it can elevate him all the way into the winner’s circle on Sunday.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
