Rickie Fowler’s big changes seem to have worked

Jul 3, 2021; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Rickie Fowler walks off the 18th tee box during the third round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Rickie Fowler recently made some big changes to his support team, and those changes are already paying off.

Fowler just finished tied for second at the Zozo Championship in Japan, cashing nearly $1 million in prize money. While he missed the cut at the Shriners Children’s Open the week before, he shot a 1-under 70 in both rounds and did not play poorly. Prior to that event, Fowler was in contention at the Fortinet Championship and finished tied for sixth.

Fowler already has a pair of top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour this season. Last season, he had just one top-10 finish, and it came when he finished tied for third at The Summit Club in October 2021.

The 33-year-old golfer was once an extremely promising player. In 2014, he seemed on top of his game as he had top-5 finishes at every major. He was ranked as high as No. 4 in the world in 2016. He has nine career professional wins. But Fowler completely fell off the map and hasn’t had a win since 2019. His ranking fell so low that he didn’t even qualify to play in the Masters or US Open the last two years.

After yet another down season, Fowler made some big changes. Fowler in August fired his longtime caddie, Joe Skovron. In September, he parted ways with swing coach John Tillery. Fowler is back working with swing coach Butch Harmon. So far, so good.

Maybe after a couple of bad seasons, Fowler is poised to turn things around.