You would think five PGA Tour victories and 72 top-10 finishes might earn a guy some respect, but the hits just keep coming for Rickie Fowler, who fought back from an opening-round 76 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational to make the cut.
Fowler shot a 70 on Friday, after Sir Nick Faldo took a swipe at him on Twitter, saying, “Good news is if he misses the Masters he can shoot another six commercials that week!”
Faldo has since walked back the comments, insisting he was simply trying to offer motivation for Fowler, who has missed two cuts in 2021 and finished no better than 20th in any tournament he’s played in since September.
And then Fowler stepped to the tee on Saturday morning to start his third round at Bay Hill and was greeted by a starter who mangled his name.
Fowler is certainly not where he’d like to be in terms of his game, but it’s hard not to feel for a guy who has long been considered one of the friendliest — not to mention most talented — players on the PGA Tour.