Rickie Fowler had a memorable first round at the WM Phoenix Open despite shooting a 71.
To start off his day, Fowler carded five bogeys en route to a 3-over 38 on TPC Scottsdale’s front nine that included both hardships and highlights. He left his 175-yard tee shot on the par-3 fourth 5 feet from the hole but one hole later on the par-4 fifth, he received a penalty en route to a bogey after accidentally moving his ball while trying to clear rocks because his shot got stuck behind a cactus.
Then on the par-4 eighth, Fowler’s wayward drive once again ended in a cactus and he was forced to hit his shot lefty. Impressively, he whacked it 74 yards across the fairway into the right rough and almost salvaged par with a 19-foot putt, but it rolled just two feet past the hole.
But the back nine — particularly the final three holes — would ease some of Fowler’s early blunders.
Full-field scores from WM Phoenix Open
The 33-year-old had four straight pars and a birdie after making the turn, but missed a 7-footer on No. 15 for his lone bogey on the back. It appeared the bogey carried over to the famous par-3 16th when Fowler hit his tee shot 137 yards into the right green side bunker, but people’s jaws in the grandstand dropped when his bunker shot from 57 feet out clanked off the flagstick.
However, he’d make up for it on the following hole by holing out from 47 yards for eagle, which was his 12th hole-out at TPC Scottsdale since 2010, the most of anyone in that span, according to statistician Justin Ray.
To cap off his sporadic day, Fowler left his 127-yard approach shot from 4 feet from the hole and would convert his birdie putt, putting him T-70, seven shots off the lead.
Fowler won the 2019 WM Phoenix Open and has been looking for a follow-up win since then. Although there’s significant ground to be made on the leaderboard, if Fowler can carry his last three holes into the next three days, his memorable first-round might be the start of something more unforgettable.
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