British Open 2025: How a controversial sponsor exemption has Rickie Fowler in the mix at Portrush
Rickie Fowler acknowledges the crowd on the 18th green during the first round of the Open.
Warren Little
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Rickie Fowler has received a healthy dose of criticism for the allotment of sponsor exemptions he’s received this season. And it is one of those invites that has Fowler in the mix at the Open Championship.
Fowler overcame bad weather, three bogeys and a handful of missed short putts during Thursday’s opening round at Royal Portrush to card a two-under 69, leaving him two shots back of the clubhouse lead as late evening begins to set in Northern Ireland. “A good solid start,” Fowler said afterwards. “I think that's really all you can ask for on Thursday.”
In a sense it’s not a total surprise; Fowler played well the last time the claret jug visited Portrush, finishing T-6 at the 2019 Open. Conversely, save for a run at the 2023 U.S. Open, Fowler has been a persona non grata of late at golf’s four biggest events. Frankly, Fowler hasn’t played well anywhere recently. He’s 99th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained this season and currently outside the FedEx Cup Playoffs with just a month to go in the regular season. His lone top-10 was thanks to a sponsor exemption. This, after a rough 2024, where Fowler didn’t crack the top 100.
In spite of his performance, Fowler maintains his popularity with those outside the ropes, which explains why he’s received a half-dozen invites to the tour’s limited-field, $20 million signature events. Sponsor exemptions have also been sources of controversy among players and fans, but in the tour’s new two-tiered systems, these invitations (which have also been conferred to Jordan Spieth) have drawn the ire of the rank-and-file, particularly those who feel the tour’s new way of doing things has created a closed-rank infrastructure that’s muzzles the idea of meritocracy.
However, Fowler’s top-10 finish off a sponsor exemption at the Memorial is why he’s competing this week. The Memorial is part of the qualifer series, which awards exemptions into the field of the R&A’s flagship event. Although he finished T-7 and nine shots back of eventual winner Scottie Scheffler, all those above Fowler were already in at Portrush, and Fowler had a higher Official World Golf Ranking than Brandt Snedeker (who tied Fowler at Muirfield Village). In short, if Fowler hadn’t received the sponsor exemption, he wouldn’t have a tee time this week.
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Fowler does have three finishes of T-6 or better at the Open, so he’s far from a ceremonial player. Moreover, it was earlier this week that Golf Channel analyst Brad Faxon picked Fowler as one to watch, feeling that Fowler was showing signs of rejuvenation. But, as Fowler admitted, it has been some time since he’s seen his name on a board.
“Yeah, it's great,” Fowler said. “We've been in the mix quite a few times over here. I love playing over here. It's a style of golf I love to play. I know I can compete in any style of golf, but especially this.”
If he gets competing like this over the next three days, Fowler won’t have to worry about the optics of favoritism much longer.
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Is it the British Open or the Open Championship? The name of the final men’s major of the golf season is a subject of continued discussion. The event’s official name, as explained in this op-ed by former R&A chairman Ian Pattinson, is the Open Championship. But since many United States golf fans continue to refer to it as the British Open, and search news around the event accordingly, Golf Digest continues to utilize both names in its coverage.
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