Rickie Fowler experienced a career resurgence in 2023. Getty Images Leading-man-worthy looks and outside-the-box fashion sense — coupled with six PGA Tour wins — have made Rickie Fowler one of pro golf ’s biggest stars. Even after dropping to a career low 185th in the OWGR in mid-2022, Fowler remained a fan favorite.
Reuniting with his former coach, GOLF Top 100 Teacher Hall of Famer Butch Harmon last fall, however, appears to have the 34-year-old native Californian back where his admirers feel he belongs. After contending at the 2023 U.S.
Open, where he opened with a record 62, he captured the Rocket Mortgage Classic in July in a three-man playoff. Early in Fowler’s PGA career, his swing was flat and laid off by Tour standards, something Harmon went to work on almost immediately. Through the years, he’s continuously toiled to transition into a more orthodox motion, something no doubt spurred by an incredulous four-and-a-half-year winless streak between 2019 and 2023.
Fowler’s second run with Butch Harmon, and some time spent with Top 100 Teacher John Tillery in 2022, has infused some of that old Rickie magic into his swing. He’s tidied up his takeaway and is now much less laid off at the top (see sequence below). His confidence — even his putting — is back.
Watch out. There’s more Rickie to come. Fowler positions the last three fingers of his gloved hand near perpendicular to the shaft.
Most rec players tilt these digits down too much, reducing the angle .