Fan-favorite Rickie Fowler wins Rocket Mortgage Classic

DETROIT — It was the biggest sigh of relief he’s taken in a while.

Facing off against Collin Morikawa and Adam Hadwin in a three-man playoff on the 18th hole at the Rocket Mortgage Classic on July 2 at Detroit Golf Club, Rickie Fowler stared down a potential tournament-winning putt from 11 feet out.

It’s been a roller coaster of a year so far for Fowler, with three top-10 finishes in his last four tournaments, which included the U.S. Open, where he held the lead going into the final round.

The Fowler faithfuls chanted his name while he approached the green. Then it was a roar of excitement unlike anything the Rocket Mortgage Classic has ever seen when Fowler’s putt dropped into the cup for a birdie and a tournament-winning score of 24 under par. It was 1,610 days since Fowler’s last tournament win, which came on Feb. 3, 2019, at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

“Going in there, I had a pretty good idea of what the putt was going to do after seeing Adam’s (putt). He was on a pretty similar line,” Fowler said. “Yeah, just kept telling myself, ‘Just hit a good putt and give it a chance.’ I didn’t see a whole lot of the putt until kind of the end; it hung on and caught the right center. Yeah, I was kind of just still and quiet and everyone was going crazy around me. It was a nice moment, just to kind of feel like the weight on my shoulders was finally off.”

The Rocket Mortgage ambassador played in front of what felt like a hometown crowd for the California native and Oklahoma State University Cowboy, who sported his iconic orange shirt and hat for the final round.

The crowd had his back every step of the way, and Fowler said he recognized every minute of it throughout the weekend.

“I feel like we’ve seen this tournament continue to grow and grow and more fans come out every year,” Fowler said. “To feel the support this year, I feel like it helps that I’ve been playing well and have more people in my corner, so it seemed like it just kind of got bigger and bigger every day, especially today. I’m glad the weather cooperated for the most part, and to kind of see the crowds grow over the day, especially come the back nine, yeah, I could definitely feel it. They were pretty much pulling for me.”

Weathering the storm of the rain and a 1-stroke lead heading into Sunday, Fowler found himself in a familiar position that seemed to be a constant throughout his resurgence this year.

While Fowler looked to maintain the lead, which had been a sore spot so far this year for him, Morikawa did everything in his power to reach the top of the leaderboard, shooting an 8-under-par 64 in the final round.

Morikawa held a 1-stroke lead late down the back nine, but Fowler’s iron shots and putter ultimately were the difference-makers. With back-to-back impressive iron shots on 18 and the playoff hole, Fowler’s tee shot on the playoff hole, which was the only tee shot between himself, Morikawa and Hadwin not to find the fairway, was made up for within minutes as Fowler stuck a beautiful second shot on the green.

Morikawa, known as one of the strongest golfers with an iron on the tour, put his second shot just off the back of the green, which would be the end of his explosive Sunday round.

“Yeah, playoffs suck when you’re on the wrong side of them,” Morikawa said. “You put everything you want into it and it comes down to one hole, but that’s what golf is. You’ve got to perform, you’ve got to execute the shots.”

The win couldn’t come at a better time for Fowler with the Ryder Cup just two months away and a shot up the FedExCup standings to No. 8 with eight top-10 finishes this season, but it also showcased what his new inner circle of legendary coach Butch Harmon and caddie Ricky Romano have brought to the table since joining Fowler last fall.

Harmon’s clientele list includes Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and more legendary golfers, and Harmon is no stranger to Fowler after working with him earlier in his career. Romano, who was Nate Lashley’s caddie in 2019 when he won the Rocket Mortgage Classic, might be a cheat code by now at the RMC, but he was also the most excited person after Fowler won, cheering up and down and jumping into Fowler’s arms.

Harmon and Romano have been matches made in heaven for Fowler.

“That’s been big because I think Butch is a very — he’s the best golf coach out there,” Fowler said. “He does a great job with players, taking what they have and, ultimately, I think, making them the best that they can be with who they are and how they swing and making what they do well that much better, and bring up the weaknesses. And Rick’s been amazing on the bag. We’ve known each other for a long time, grew up in the same town, so when Joe (Skovron) and I split, he was basically at the top of my list, because he’s a great player, one, and I’ve known him a long time.”

Fowler’s biggest supporters, wife Allison Stokke and 1-year-old daughter Maya, were at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, and it made for a picture-perfect moment as Fowler held his daughter while conducting an interview after the end of the tournament.

Fowler said they’ve been by his side all throughout his struggles on the course, and he said they’ve been a big part of why his mental game has continued to stay strong.

“It will be very special for me to have Maya and my wife there with me on the 18th green (when I think back on this win), especially with the last few years, how they’ve been on the golf course, dealing with that,” Fowler said. “It was tough just because everything else in my life was amazing, and then to have the one thing that I obviously love doing — it’s not everything to me, but it’s a big part of my life — it was kind of the missing link.”

Call Staff Writer Jonathan Szczepaniak at (586) 498-1090.