Rickie finds a spark
Rickie Fowler switched up his putting grip, switching to left-hand low — or cross-handed — which appears to have sparked momentum for him on the greens. He shot a seven-under 65, his lowest score of the year, at TPC Louisiana in the second round of the Zurich Classic to post eight-under at the halfway mark.
Fowler, who missed the cut in his last start at the RBC Heritage, came out hot on Friday, throwing darts at pins, but more important, rolling in putts. The grip change isn’t something completely foreign to him. In high school and college he did it quite a bit, but he hasn’t used it on tour — aside from perhaps one day when he was having a bad round and it couldn’t get any worse.
“It’s something that I’ve done before and I’ve done it in practice quite a bit, just right now feels like it’s putting me in a better position to set-up and I’m able to stroke the ball a bit easier and not force anything,” said Fowler, who teed off in the morning wave, after his round. “I felt more comfortable with my setup and I guess it was more proper where it should have been.
“I felt like I was having to kind of force the issue with the traditional grip, so it just felt more comfortable and put me in a good position to strike the ball where I want to and basically simplified a bit.”
Fowler dropped down the first page of the leaderboard since scores were lower than expected in the afternoon. The wind stayed relatively calm for the guys with late starting times compared to Thursday. Still, he’s right where he wants to be heading into the weekend at T11, four shots back of 36-hole leader Jason Dufner.
“Good to see my name somehwere on the first page or two and to climb back up there and put myself in a good position for this weekend,” said Rickie. “The game feels good and hope I’ll get it going for Saturday and Sunday.”
Fowler’s best finish in 2012 was T7 at the Honda Classic in March. While one of the most visible and recognizable players, he’s yet to capture his first win on the PGA Tour.
(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Finally, everyone always says he is destined to win a ton but we are still waiting. We at three guys are big rickie fans so we will be rooting for him.
I guess when you are struggling on the greens you need to try something different and see if it works. If cross handed grip does the trick then keep at Rickie.
His first win on tour will surely come sooner rather than later.
how many players change their putting grip when they can’t get anything to fall? Good information, but hardly earth shattering news. Good luck Rickie
Troy,
I would love to agree that Rickie will get a win sooner rather than later but how long until he really starts to feel the pressure? All the “experts” say he is over-due already.
Go look at the grips of all the great putters. They all used the same basic grip. Left hand low, claw, even the belly, are all fads and will come and go. Sure you can get streaky with those grips but to be a consistently great putter you have to use a traditional grip.
I like Ricky, but my question is when does he start to become considered over-rated? He hasn’t proven yet that the hype has any substance.
Rickie is only 23 and in the beginning of his 3rd year as a professional.
Hunter Mahan lost his card after his 2nd year on tour and didn’t win on tour until his 4th year when he was 26, and his 5th year as a professional.
Bubba Watson didn’t get his first win until he was almost 32 and had been on tour for 6 years, his 9th year as a professional!
Rickie will be fine.
I understand, BUT neither one of those guys was hyped even CLOSE to what this guy has been. I guess I just don’t see it. But I hope he does break through, seems like a good kid. Just a little tired of hearing about him and how great he is going to be. Maybe we could just drop it until he does something.
Rickie can’t control hype, all he can do is go out and play.
Are you watching right now?
Can you hear me now
Boy I’m glad he made that putt. Could have been some serious scar tissue had he missed that one!
Good going Rickie.