The job was done.
Finally.
Rickie Fowler, once one of the brightest stars in golf, had disappeared froām the mainstream of the gaļ·ŗme, falling from No. 4 in the world rankings to 185th and vanishing from the biggest events because he wasnāt playing well enough to qualify for them.
All at once, Fowler was a winner again, for the first time in 1,610 days and 96 tournaments without a victory, whź§en he hoisted the chalice at the Rocket Mortgage Classic three weeks ago.
The paint hadnāt dried on Fowlerās first win since February 2019 when Rory McIlrošy texted Fowlerās swing coach, the legendary Butch Harmon.
Fowler had reunited with Harmon in November in a desperate call for help when he admiš¤Ŗtted he was ālost.āā
āCongratulš¦ations Butch,āā the McIlroy text to Harmon began. āYou got Rickie back to where he belongs.āā
Can a professional athlą¼ŗete have a revival at age 34?
Well, Fowler is in the midstź¦ of a hell of a comeback at the moment. The āRickie Revival Tour is, indeed, in full force. Heās back on the radar and a seeming no-brainer for the U.S. Ryder Cup team once again.
The next stop for Fowler is the 151st British Open, which begins this week at Royal Liverpool. Fowler finished runner-up to McIlroy the last time the Open was played at Hoylake, and from the depths of š“nowhere, he has to be considered one of the favorites to win.
Fowler not only will enter the fourth and final major championship of 2023 as one of the most consistent players in the game over the past eight monthź¦«s, but also as one ofź§ the most recent winners after he broke through with that victory three weeks ago.
The wait had been long for a player who, based on his early career success, was projected tź¦o have quite a few more pelts on his belt by now than he does.
Fowlerās victory at the Rocket Mortgage ended an agonizing period of self-doubt and searching. It not only ended a career-long drought, it did wonders for Fowlerās confiš¦©dence ā particularlyš the way it unfolded.
It, too, reinforced the hašrd work Fowler has been putting in with Harmon, who has helped rebuild not oną¼ŗly his swing but also, more significantly, his psyche. During the U.S. Open last month at Los Angeles Country Club, Fowler said Harmon is much more than a swing coach, he is a ālife coach.āā
Harmon, who at age 79 doesnāt travel to PGA Tour events anymore, watched from his home while Fowler won the Rocket Moąµ²rtgage in a playoff.
Two weeks earlier, Fowler closed the U.šS. Open with a disappointing and deflašting final-round 75 to finish fifth after he had a piece of the lead for the first three rounds.
Harmon knew the stress that was coursing through Fowlerās veins during the final round of the Rocket Mortgage in Detroit. He had control of the touš¼rnament, slipped up mid-round to lose the lead and was forced to make a remarkable birdie on the 72nd hole to get into the playoff, which he won with a birdie on the first extra hole.
āMy anź¦xiety was as high up thereš as his was because I wanted it so badly for him,āā Harmon told The Post over the phone from his vacation home in California. āHeās been so close in the last eight months.āā
Fowler needed to be better than close. He needed to win again. And the way he did it, Harmon believes, further steeled his confidence going forwardš ŗ.
āI like winning the way he won rather than it being a cakewalk,āā Harmon said. āYou learn more about yourself througź¦ h adversity. I think this gives him more confidence going forward than if heād have run off and left everybody. He had to reach inside after he had it and he let it get away from him. He had to go back š§and grab it and win the thing. This is where you learn who you are and how far back youāve come.
āAnd,āā Harmon added with a ą½§force of coānviction in his voice, āheās back.āā
The win šwas a particularly popular one around the game, because not only is Fowler one of fansā favorite players, but also heās as popular in the clubhouse locker rooms among his peeršs.
When Fowler won in the playoff to beat Collin Morikawa, whoās in a victory slump of his own, and Adam Hadwin, who has only one career win in 240 starts, both players saluted him. Hadwin actually applauded Fš«owler on 18 when he won.
āHeās been playing šphenomenal š°golf, itās great to see,ā Morikawa said. āPeople love him.āā
āI think š¹the game is in a better place when Riš ŗckie Fowlerās playing well,āā Harmon said.
Harmon was moved by the Fowler victory, saying: āPersonallyį©į©į©į©į©į©ā¤ā¤ā¤ā¤į©ā¤ā¤ā¤ā¤į©ā¤ā¤ā¤ā¤į©š±į©į©į©, this win means more to me than all the majors Iāve won with guys, just because of where he came from and how low he was and where his self-esteem had gone. Sometimes, youāveš§ got to hit rock bottom before you come back, and itās been amazing journey and this is just the start of the journey.āā
Those are strong words coming from a man who has coached the likes of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson š§to major championships.
Fowler is a difšferent man than he was ā±when he burst onto the scene. He was the golf version of Anna Kournikova, who was the most recognizable player in womenās tennis for her looks and marketability, but not her wins on tour.
The marketable Fowler was on more TV coš mmercials than anyone in golf, but he wasnāt winning a lot despite often š¦playing well.
āYouāve got to decide, are you going to be a Kardashian orš are you going to be a golf pro?āā Harmon said to Fowler in a brutally candid conversation he had with him several years ago when they first started working together.
Fowlerās reaction?
āHe did not like that,āā Harmon recalled. āHe wasnāt happy at all. He felt that I might have been out of line saying it. He didnāt say that to me, but he said it to his manager. They knewź¦ that I was saying that for a reason, because I care about the kid. I saw more in him than we were getting. One of the reasons Iāve had success with Tour players is Iām not an ass-kisser. These players have a lot of ass-kissers around them. Thatās not me. My job is to make you better. And Iām brutally honest.āā
Harmonās tough love had a profound effect on Fowlšer.
āHeās a totally different person now,āā Harmon said. āYouāre seeing a mature Rickie Fowler now. Heās grown up a lot. Heās not a young guy anymore. Hešøās a man. Heās a dad. Being a dad with a daughter has really helped him. Heās just a different person.āā
What makes Harmon such a good fit for the players he coachš·es is how he works with them. He doesnāt force-feed his idea of the golf swing on the plaāyer. He works with what the player has.
āHeās the best golf coach out there,ā Fowler said. āHe does a great job with players, taking what they have and ultimately making them the best that they can be with who they are and hošøw they swing and making what they do well tš¦©hat much better and bring up the weaknesses.ā
Fowler said of the win in Detroit: āit was just nice to have this one out of the way. … Itās been a long road. Itās definitely been long and tough. A lot longer being in that situation than youād ever want to. But it makes it so worth it having gone through that and being back where we are now.ā
Back to the place where, as McIlroy texted to Harmon, šFowler belongs.