Rickie Fowler’s week at the Charles Schwab Challenge 11 years ago, the edge was taken off the PGA Tour star’s tough round at Colonial after spotting one fan’s outfit
Rickie Fowler’s attention was caught by a fan at Colonial(Image: Getty Images)
Rickie Fowler has been a fan favorite on the PGA Tour for some time, and one supporter in particular once went above and beyond at Colonial.
Fresh off making a return to the major stage at last week’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, Fowler is back in Tour action at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Whilst he has struggled to find his best form over the past few months, the six-time winner has impressed this week, and sits in a tie for seventh at six-under-par at the halfway stage.
It is a much improved showing on his appearance at Colonial 11 years prior, after the former world No. 6 missed the cut at the then Crown Plaza Invitational.
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An opening round 80 was followed by a 75 to leave him at 15-over-par for the tournament through two rounds, as he missed the weekend by a whopping 14 shots. Morale will have been low in the Fowler camp as he made his way around the Pennsylvania track.
His day was slightly brightened, though, as one fan in particular caught his eye. It came at a time when Fowler’s iconic orange look was all the rage on the PGA Tour, with his snapback Puma cap playing a key role in his famous look.
One member in particular took the hat craze to a new level, having had a custom-made Fowler-inspired super cap made to watch his favorite player compete. The fan in question received plenty of attention throughout the day at Colonial in 2014.
He was, of course, keen to catch Fowler’s reaction, who, when seeing it, seemed to let out a quick smile amid a torrid round of golf. There is no doubt it caught the PGA Tour man by surprise, who clearly did not know where to look whilst trying to keep a straight face.
Sadly, Fowler’s super fan did not get to see his best golf that week, but 11 years on, the 36-year-old finds himself well in contention heading into the weekend. After a steady level-par 70 to get things underway in round one, Fowler burst into life on Friday.
The U.S. Ryder Cup man carded an impressive six-under 64 on day two, to leave him five shots behind leaders Matthias Schmid and Ben Griffin. Clearly pleased with his efforts, Fowler said post-round: “Yeah, got off to a nice start, which was great after posting even yesterday.
“I knew that the cut was probably going to be somewhere around there. Getting myself well inside that number was nice.” A return to form is much-needed for Fowler, after a tricky 2024 campaign saw him miss the FedEx Cup playoffs and last month’s Masters.
It appears his game is starting to trend in the right direction, though. “It’s definitely coming around,” he said. “I know it’s been slow last year and a slow start to the year. The body is starting to feel better, and the game, I feel like it’s been in a good spot and not very far off. It’s a fine line out here.
“Nice to see things starting to come together a bit. It would have been nice to continue on from our front nine, but it was a solid day on a Friday. We’ll see if we can get after it this weekend.”
