CROMWELL, Conn. — Rickie Fowler has had a lack of consistency this season, failing to win or finish in the top 10 in any tournament he’s played in.
But he found something on the greens Thursday that led to a 6-under 64 in the opening round of the Travelers Championship. He didn’t make a single bogey and shared the early lead with Akshay Bhatia and Kurt Kitayama.
“I had a good putt to save par and start the round. It was a good up-and-down shot and that got me started,” Fowler explained.
“Sometimes I think that’s better than getting a birdie on the first hole because it’s all downhill from the first hole. So I got off to a good start. I got a birdie on the second hole. I started to see the ball going in and the putts going in gave me more freedom the rest of the game and didn’t feel like I had to be perfect.”
Fowler’s first tee shot missed right and landed in the rough. He then hit it back and found the ball thicker 44 yards short of the hole. A drop shot came close early, but Fowler saved par from 8 feet away. He also called it his best shot of the day.
But making such big par saves early in a round gives you big momentum, and Fowler used it to his advantage, taking just 23 putts in Thursday’s round to finish first in strokes gained putting among the 71 players in the field. 38 ft. He ended his best day on the greens this season with a birdie on the par-4 17th hole.
But his putting prowess on Thursday was a far cry from what he’s been up to this season.
Fowler ranks 131st on the PGA Tour in putting strokes gained and 163rd in overall strokes gained. It’s no wonder he has yet to finish in the top 10 this season; his best finish is a tie for 18th at Harbour Town. He also just arrived in Connecticut having missed the cut at the Memorial and U.S. Open, shooting 82 in the second round at the Memorial.
“I think a lot of it was just my putting not going well. When you putt well, everything else becomes easier,” Fowler explained.
“You can’t see the putt going in, so it adds that stress of having to hit the green or hit it closer or chip it closer. When you can see the putt going in, the circle is a lot bigger. That’s a big part. But when you hit it well and you can’t take advantage of it, putting is probably the easiest thing to point out. Putting helps a lot, but it’s not always the only reason.”
Fowler made a 123-foot putt on Thursday, which certainly put him at ease. But the question now is whether he can continue to rely on his hot putting. And what if he hadn’t had that up-and-down moment on the first hole? How would the round have played out? Either way, we’ll have to wait for the answer. But for now, Fowler is atop the leaderboard for the first time this season, which is cause for celebration for many.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow For more golf articles, follow us on Twitter Jack Mirko In the same way.
