Fan Favorite Rickie Fowler Earns Playoff Win in Detroit
By Tom Lang
Rickie Fowler came from behind by making a 3-foot birdie on the 18th hole in regulation, then birdied the same hole again in a 3-man playoff to ignite thunderous roars from Fowler-happy fans just shortly before real-life thunderstorms rolled in at Detroit Golf Club to add more fireworks to a long-awaited Fowler victory.
Fowler’s previous win on the PGA Tour was four years and five months ago, at the Phoenix Open on Super Bowl Sunday.
The 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic win for Fowler, with a first-prize bonanza of $1.58 million, came over Adam Hadwin and Collin Morikawa, when all three players finished the 72-hole tournament at 24-under par, 264. Fowler birdied the 18th hole to force the 3-way tie. In the playoff, things looked grim as he sprayed his drive to the right rough but into an area that fans had trampled down all week. With just enough room to get around the corporate suites lining the right side of the 18th fairway approach, Fowler put his second shot to about 12 feet below the hole.
“I felt like I made some pretty good swings shooting a few under on the front, and I felt like if I could kind of continue to do something similar and keep moving forward, I thought if I could kind of -- rough idea I was thinking, you know, trying to get to 26 (under),” said Fowler, who scored 67-65-64-68.. “Obviously that would have been enough, but that was kind of what I was shooting for.
“I think the speed bump was 14 (a par 5). I hit a great drive and then a nice 5-wood in there, just kind of either misread or had a putt bump a little bit there on the second, for birdie. Adam makes a nice birdie on 15 and I couldn't convert mine, so that's kind of where I lost a little bit of momentum. Just kind of kept pushing. That was kind of the nice thing with being out in front, gave me a little bit of cushion for either me to make a mistake or guys to make some birdies and still be in there.
“Going to 18, basically knew what I had to do, our back was against the wall. I felt like I did a good job out there today, just really didn't convert and take advantage of some opportunities that I had on the back 9 to ultimately win it in regulation, but I'll take it any way we can get it.”
He had a one-stroke lead going into the final round. Hadwin scored a 67 and Morikowa shot a 64 on Sunday to force the tie, before Fowler holed the final putt to the roars of thousands of fans who cheered him on all week.
As a Rocket Mortgage spokesperson, it’s easy to believe Fowler has felt extra pressure anytime he plays in Detroit.
“Definitely, the fans here have always been great,” Fowler said. “I feel like we've seen this tournament continue to grow and grow and more fans come out every year. To feel the support this year, I feel like it helps that I've been playing well and have more people in my corner, so it seemed like it just kind of got bigger and bigger every day, especially today.
“I'm glad the weather cooperated for the most part, and to kind of see the crowds grow over the day, especially come the back nine, yeah, I could definitely feel it. They were pretty much pulling for me. I know that playing with Adam (Hadwin), he was grinding it out and trying to obviously go win the tournament himself, and Collin was up in front of us playing very well. So, to get it done and I feel like please a lot of the other people obviously pulling for me, rooting for me, yeah, it felt great to get this one.”
