Rickie Fowler played his 100th round in a Major on Friday at The Masters, and it was a very productive one; it might just have set him up for his first Major victory.
Fowler’s 5-under 67 was the low round of the day, only the second time he’s had the low round in a Major (he shot a 3-under 67 in the third round of the 2013 US Open). He has at least a share of the 36-hole lead for the fifth time in his career.
The worrying stat? He’s failed to convert the previous four into victories, but he thinks he has a successful approach now.
‘Make sure we go through the process and really get committed,’ said Fowler, whose previous best placement after any round in his Masters career was fourth in the third round in 2013. ‘On the weekends, I tend to try and walk a little slower, make sure we’re taking our time.
‘Because my tendency is to kind of speed up and go a little too quickly, so the more that I can slow down thoughts, my walking and make sure that I kind of think through everything and not get too quick out there – that’s one of my keys.’
Fowler’s round got off to a dream start as he holed his bunker shot on the second for an eagle 3, before making another 3 on the par 4 fourth hole. He turned in 32 after a birdie on the par 5 eighth. Fowler moved to -4 with another par 5 birdie, but made bogey on 15 to give a shot back.
The American quickly responded with a birdie on the par 3 16th and closed with two pars.
Earlier this year, Fowler won The Honda Classic after heading into the weekend in solo third. Now he’s firmly one of the guys being chased. How he handles that – and how he paces himself – could very well result in a green jacket come Sunday.
Fowler’s midway total puts in a four-way tie for the lead alongside Charley Hoffman (+3), Sergio Garcia (-3) and Thomas Pieters (-4).
The Masters round two (USA unless noted):
140 – Charley Hoffman 65-75, Sergio Garcia (ESP) 71-69, Rickie Fowler 73-67, Thomas Pieters (BEL) 72-68
142 – William McGirt 69-73
143 – Justin Rose (ENG) 71-72, Jon Rahm (ESP) 73-70, Fred Couples 73-70, Ryan Moore 74-69
144 – Phil Mickelson 71-73, Adam Scott (AUS) 75-69, Jordan Spieth 75-69
145 – Soren Kjeldsen (DEN) 72-73, Rory McIlroy (NIR) 72-73, Matt Kuchar 72-73
146 – Hideki Matsuyama (JPN) 76-70, Charl Schwartzel (RSA) 74-72, Martin Kaymer (GER) 78-68
147 – Brian Stuard 77-70, Stewart Hagestad 74-73, Jason Dufner 71-76, Kevin Chappell 71-76, Brooks Koepka 74-73, Brendan Steele 74-73, Bill Haas 75-72, Ernie Els (RSA) 72-75, Marc Leishman (AUS) 73-74, Russell Henley 71-76, Paul Casey (ENG) 72-75, Jimmy Walker 76-71, Lee Westwood (ENG) 70-77
148 – Steve Stricker 75-73, Pat Perez 74-74, Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) 77-71
149 – Byeong-Hun An (KOR) 76-73, Adam Hadwin (CAN) 75-74, Emiliano Grillo (ARG) 79-70, Justin Thomas 73-76, Andrew Sullivan (ENG) 71-78, Brandt Snedeker 75-74, Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) 77-72, Daniel Summerhays 74-75, Kevin Kisner 74-75, Matthew Fitzpatrick (ENG) 71-78
150 – Jason Day (AUS) 74-76, Francesco Molinari (ITA) 78-72, Ross Fisher (ENG) 76-74, Branden Grace (RSA) 76-74, Daniel Berger 77-73, J.B. Holmes 78-72, James Hahn 75-75, Curtis Luck (AUS) 78-72, Larry Mize 74-76
Missed the cut:
151 – Chris Wood (ENG) 74-77, Zach Johnson 77-74, Danny Willett (ENG) 73-78, Billy Hurley III 75-76, Kevin Na 76-75, Jim Furyk 78-73, Yuta Ikeda (JPN) 74-77, Shane Lowry (IRL) 72-79
152 – Alex Noren (SWE) 74-78, Scott Piercy 73-79, Bubba Watson 74-78, Webb Simpson 75-77, Rod Pampling (AUS) 74-78, Tommy Fleetwood (ENG) 78-74, Russell Knox (SCO) 76-76, Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP) 75 77, Henrik Stenson (SWE) 77-75,
153 – Bernhard Langer (GER) 75-78, Vijay Singh (FIJ) 78-75, Jose-Maria Olazabal (ESP) 77-76, Brad Dalke 78-75, Sean O’Hair 76-77, Hudson Swafford 77-76, Patrick Reed 76-77
154 – Ian Woosnam (WAL) 76-78, Angel Cabrera (ARG) 79-75, Jhonattan Vegas (VEN) 78-76
155 – Trevor Immelman (RSA) 79-76, Mike Weir (CAN) 76-79, Gary Woodland 75-80
156 – Mark O’Meara 78-78, Jeung-Hun Wang (KOR) 78-78, Si Woo Kim (KOR) 75-81, Hideto Tanihara (JPN) 76-80
157 – Roberto Castro 79-78, Scott Gregory (ENG) 82-75
158 – Tyrrell Hatton (ENG) 80-78
159 – Mackenzie Hughes (CAN) 79-80
160 – Sandy Lyle (SCO) 77-83
161 – Toto Gana (CHI) 81-80
