Before another top 15 finish Sunday at the Wells Fargo Championship, Rickie Fowler spoke about the consistency returning to his game.
“It’s definitely been a bit more consistent,” Fowler said after finishing 8-under at Quail Hollow. “Feel like it’s been weeks where I’ve been able to rely on maybe one or two parts of the game. Really haven’t had everything yet. But … in the last few years that would be a missed cut or finishing in the back of the pack and now being able to manage and keep things moving forward, build momentum, that’s turning those weeks into top 20s and top10s.”
“I personally get more out of that, getting some solid finishes out of not having my best.”
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Fowler, who lives in Jupiter, is not back to his vintage best. But his recent play – eight top 20s in his last nine starts – has him back in a spot he once occupied for six years… the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings.
Fowler, 34, cracked the top 50 this week for the first time since late 2020. He had dropped as low as No. 185 last September but started moving up as his game started to return.
With the exception of a T31 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, Fowler’s worst finish in the last 3 1/2 months is a tie for 20th at the Genesis Invitational. He has three top 15s in a row.
Fowler peaked in the OWGR at No. 4 in 2012. He was in the top 50 from February 2014 to February 2020 and has spent more than 200 weeks in the top 10.
Already eligible for this month’s PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, Fowler will qualify for the US Open at Los Angeles Country Club if he remains in the top 60 in the OWGR two weeks before its June 15 start. He will play in the British Open July 20-23 if he’s in the top 50 on May 22.
Fowler’s lone major in 2022 was the PGA Championship, where he finished tied for 23rd at Southern Hills. He has not qualified for the Masters the last two years.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Rickie Fowler in top 50 of world golf rankings for first time since 2020