Rickie Fowler 'Coming Around' at Colonial, in Contention at Charles Schwab
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
After a pedestrian opening day at the Charles Schwab Challenge, in which he made only two birdies and two bogies, and fired an even par 70, Rickie Fowler posted a marvelous second round at Colonial.
He fired a 6-under 64, which included a 6-under 29 on the front nine. Fowler birdied the 11th, 12th, and 13th holes right out of the gate, giving him the start he needed and separating himself from the cut line.
"Got off to a nice start, which was great after posting even yesterday," Fowler said.
"I knew that the cut was probably going to be somewhere around there."
Rickie Fowler on the 12th green during the second round of the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club.
Rickie Fowler on the 12th green during the second round of the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club./After missing six cuts last season, Fowler's first missed cut of 2025 came at the PGA Championship last week. Despite that, the former Oklahoma State Cowboy has only two top-20s this year. His best finish to date is a T-15, which came at the Truist Championship in Philadelphia two weeks ago. Fowler also shot a 29 then and that sub-30 score came during the opening round.
"[My game is] definitely coming around. I know it's been slow last year and slow start to the year. Body is starting to feel better, and the game I feel like it's been in a good spot and not very far off. It's a fine line out here. Nice to see things starting to come together a bit," Fowler said.
"It would have been nice to continue on from our front nine, but a solid day on a Friday. We'll see if we can get after it this weekend."
Fowler added another par-breaker on the challenging 3rd — the first hole of the 'Horrible Horseshoe.' Legendary Golf Writer Dan Jenkins nicknamed this three-hole stretch on Colonial the 'Horrible Horseshoe' for its immense difficulty and because its routing is shaped like a loop. The 5th hole, the last hole of this trio, is where Fowler made his only bogey of the day.
"Five is probably one of my least favorite tee shots on tour. I've done a good job the last two days with it, but there are a few spots where this course can get you, and that's one of them," Fowler said.
"Probably a little bit more inviting for a lefty. Typically wind is off the left. Hazard all down the right. Now you've got kind of thick junk up the left. If you hit a good one, it's great and you get it in play up there. I only had 8-iron in today. I made a poor iron swing, but it's kind of the more you take on off the tee, it can make the hole easier from there, but it's just a good, tough hole. You have to step up and hit a good tee shot."
Fowler hit plenty of solid tee shots on Friday. He found 11 of 14 fairways and ranked ninth among the field in strokes gained off the tee. If he can continue to put it in play off the tee over the weekend at Colonial, a course that requires accuracy with the driver, then Fowler should be able to post his best result of the season.
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