American embraces rugged conditions at British Open
Early in the third round of the British Open on Saturday, Rickie Fowler was asked about the brutal conditions at Royal St. George’s by an on-course TV commentator.
“I love it,” Fowler said.
Embracing the wind, rain, and cold, Fowler posted the best round of the day (68), later matched by Dustin Johnson, scaling his way up a leaderboard full of players in retreat. After starting the day tied for 19th, Fowler moved into a tie for third, three shots from the lead.
“I knew it was going to be tough to stay dry,” Fowler said. “Par was going to be a great score on a lot of holes. We went out and tried to plug along, keep moving forward, and not make any big numbers.”
Fowler has yet to win a PGA Tour event. Is the 22-year-old ready to win a major?
Perhaps so when considering that Ben Curtis’ first PGA Tour win came at the same course and the same event in 2003. And perhaps so considering what Rory McIlroy, Fowler’s playing partner on Saturday, did last month at the U.S. Open. Before breaking through, McIlroy, also 22, had been haunted by his final-round collapse at the Masters and in several other European and PGA tour events that were winable.
Fowler has a similar history, blowing final-round leads in 2010 at the Phoenix and at the Memorial. He also had a chance to win the AT&T National earlier this month but shot 74 in the final round after a 64 a day earlier.
It will be interesting to see how Fowler reacts on Sunday with a chance to win not only his first major, but his first event on tour.
“It feels good,” Fowler said. “I had some fun out there today.”
