Rickie Fowler's playoff beard has him looking worthy of a Tour Championship berth

USA Today

3 days ago

OWINGS MILLS, Md. – Rickie Fowler is in playoff mode.
But that scruff growing on Rickie Fowler's face? He wouldn't characterize it as a playoff beard, per se, though he's been playing like a hockey player with Stanley Cup, er, FedEx Cup aspirations.
'I don't know what it is,' he said. 'It was growing for a bit through the British. Got home, Maya, our oldest, she usually tells me, 'Dada, take your hair off.' She's mentioned it. I try and tickle her as much as I can with it, and she was kind of messing with it yesterday. We'll see if she lets me keep it. She kind of dictates a lot of that, but so far she hasn't forced me to take it off yet.'
Rickie Fowler has made a comeback
Fowler ranked 113th in the FedEx Cup heading into May and still was outside the top 70 to qualify for the playoffs heading into July after missing the cut at the Rocket Classic, the site of his last win in 2023. But the 36-year-old former Oklahoma State Cowboy had some late-season giddyup and rallied to make the weekend in his final four starts of the regular season, including two top-20s. He snuck into the playoffs at the end of the regular season at No. 64.
'I feel like things have been heading in the right direction, and I've been in a good spot for a few months now of knowing where the game is and it's continuing to get better,' he said.
Last week, in another do-or-die situation, he delivered his best result of the season and finished T-6 at the first leg of the playoffs and narrowly advanced into the top 50 to qualify for the BMW Championship at No. 48. This week's attitude is nothing to lose and everything to gain.
'Last week was maybe more important with getting inside the top 50,' he said. 'Obviously there's some other implications being inside the top 30 with majors and then going into next week and everyone is starting at zero.I know what I need to do. I need to have a solid finish and play well, but if we can keep continuing what we've been doing, it shouldn't be an issue.'
What does Rickie Fowler need to get to the Tour Championship?
Just how good a week does he need to get back to East Lake after a one-year absence?
'I heard 13th thrown out. I don't know if that's right or not or how close that is. There's some other situations where it's dictated by where other guys are at and where they finish,' he said.
He took care of business on Thursday, shooting 3-under 67 and after the first round was projected to vault to No. 26 and safely inside the top 30 headed to East Lake. But he had already been flipping between No. 29 and No. 31 before he even teed off in the second round (2 p.m. ET), so his status is shaky and there's more work to be done.
'Nice solid start,' he said. 'That's really all I wanted out of a Thursday.'
Don't call it a playoff beard but maybe Maya will let it hang around for one more week.