Rickie Fowler talks about playing in the Sanderson Farms Championship and life as the father of a newborn and two-year-old daughter during a press conference at Jackson Country Club on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. Rickie Fowler has not played in a golf tournament since the British Open and is out for 2 1/2 months.
Fowler finished the regular season outside the top 100 in the FedExCup standings and was already unlikely to make the 70-man playoffs before opting to skip the Wyndham Championship, the final regular-season event. But part of the decision can be attributed to a growing family. Fowler and his wife, Allison, welcomed their second child in August.
With the playoffs and a slow September behind him (one PGA Tour event plus the Presidents Cup), Fowler will take the field again this week at the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi. How does the game feel.
“I mean, even though I'm very unfamiliar with my two little guys at home, it's absolutely wonderful,” Fowler said. “Like I mentioned, when you play a full season, we don't get a lot of down time. Sleeping in the same bed for a long time, no, it feels good to have a break, kind of refreshed, kind of excited to come back.”
Fowler is also scheduled to compete in the Shriners Children's Open in Las Vegas later this month and the Zozo Championship outside Tokyo.
“I think in the last month and a half or so I've been more involved in the development of the game and getting ready to be here,” he said. “It's a weird feeling packing my bags and coming back to life on the road. Usually traveling with family, it makes more sense to do it alone…but it will be nice and they will come to Vegas with me.”
Fowler said his goal was to shake off some rust this week, but later clarified that wasn't his only goal.
“It's a fun (tournament) to be able to add. Like I said, I'm not coming here just to work or shake off the rust. I'm coming here feeling like I'm in a good position to go play some great basketball. Golf,” Fowler said.
In the second of eight events in the FedEx Cup fall season, the stakes are high for many tour golfers, although Fowler won't lose his card. Because Fowler won the Rocket Mortgage Classic in July 2023, he received an automatic two-year tour exemption.
“Luckily for me, after winning last year, I'm safe on some things, but there are definitely things I can fight for,” Fowler said. “Obviously, to win, to put myself in a better situation, to get myself back in a good spot in terms of world rankings and ultimately stay in the top 125 and get to the Players Championship (tournament). There are a lot of opportunities to play, but At the same time, it is not life or death.
“For me, coming back from that break fresh and ready to go, I'm looking forward to playing well and building a better platform than last year and putting myself in a better position to be able to get more. Good results.
–Scene-level media