Tell 'em Rick
We've never seen Rickie Fowler so mad in striking back at mouthy fan
Rickie Fowler watches his shot from the third tee during the third round of the Cognizant Classic.
Mike Mulholland
Rickie Fowler is cool. There’s been no denying that for his 16 years as a pro. Kids (and adults) dress like him, few of his peers have appeared in more commercials, and he’ll sign autographs until seemingly every seeker is happy. And on the course, not many guys show a more chill demeanor. We’re not sure we’ve ever seen Rick outwardly peeved at anybody in public.
Until Saturday.
Maybe a bit frustrated with hitting some sloppy shots while contending in the third round of the Cognizant Classic on Saturday, Fowler was fed up suffering fools , and he went off (in his own way) on somebody in the stands at PGA National.
As shown on the NBC broadcast, Fowler hit a birdie putt at the par-4 16th and the ball clipped the right edge of the lip before going just past. As he walked toward his ball, he turned, focused on someone, and with an annoyed expression said loudly, “Of course you know.” (We’ve all heard these morons in the gallery, thinking they’re experts because they’ve been watching from the bleachers for hours.) After tamping down his line, Fowler, still shaking his head, had to take another shot. “That’s why you are in the stands,” he said.
It's a credit to the players that they don’t clap back more to the idiotic comments. Rory McIlroy had enough at last month’s Genesis Invitational, and after he missed a birdie putt and was told to “blame your caddie,” he responded with ‘Shut the f—k up!”
Fowler, thankfully, has better prospects on his mind for Sunday. He opened the tournament shooting 64-68 and said he hit only a few good shots in scoring 68 in the third round. But he stands T-6 on the crowded board, only three back of leader Jake Knapp.
At 34, Fowler is trying for his seventh overal tour win and first since the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic, where he broke a five-year victory drought.
“It's very rare that you're going to go four days and hit it well and make putts and do all the right things,” he said. “A lot of times you're going to have to fight through at least one day, and I feel like in the last 18 months or so … instead of shooting 68 like today, shooting 73 to 76. That moves you the wrong direction.
“It was good to get through it today and put ourselves in a spot where we go play well tomorrow, we'll have a chance to win this thing.”
