Rickie Fowler’s decision regarding LIV Golf is quite significant when it comes to the Masters Tournament. Fowler missed out on the last three editions of the tournament, and thus, he was hell-bent on competing this year, which is why him rejecting the LIV offer was valid. Most recently, he’s gone up on the OWGR rankings and is currently ranked 33.
Previously, when Fowler’s rank dropped to 160th, he struggled to regain his form after relishing a seat under the top 5 in 2016. But in 2023, the golfer started regaining his form and won the Rocket Mortgage Classic. So, coming back to the winner’s circle included him at the Augusta National after missing out on the previous editions. In an interview, Fowler admitted how hurt he was being out of the Augusta National for so much time.
Rickie Fowler Will Come Back To Augusta National After Three years
Fowler described how he felt after missing out on the Masters, and that he’s been hoping that if his rank goes up on the OWGR list, then he would again play at the tournament.
“I mean, honestly, it sucked. But knowing kind of what I had been doing and kind of moving back up the world ranking, that at least gave me something to look forward to knowing that I would be in Majors moving forward and hopefully be back at Augusta next year.”
He further continued to elaborate on how watching live golf on his phone inspired him.
“But yeah, it was a bummer. I ended up watching a decent amount as I think everyone does. I was out playing golf and I watched some of the live streaming stuff on my phone, but that was some motivation to be back.”
Rickie Fowler suggests that those who left for LIV should not have a direct path back to the PGA TOUR: “Yeah, as far as decisions to go elsewhere and just welcome back, I don’t think it’s a direct road. I mean, they made decisions and there’s — there has to be something… pic.twitter.com/a80ZFJr7AH
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) February 2, 2024
But, this time the golfer can showcase his performance on the course and won’t have to limit himself to virtual entertainment. It is quite clear that this is why he turned down the LIV offer and didn’t move to the rival league after so much speculation regarding it. Also, in Netflix’s golf documented series, Full Swing, the PGA Tour pro stated that he wants to play golf to compete with the best in the world, not for money.
After staying loyal to the PGA Tour, Fowler also claimed that LIV golfers shouldn’t have a direct pathway back to the tour. He believes that the LIV golfers made a few decisions, which should have consequences. But that’s not what Rory McIlroy suggested to the Tour…he requested to allow LIV golfers back into the Tour without penalty. But what will be the ultimate scenario; that can only be known after the PGAT-PIF reaches a deal. As of now, Fowler has taken a calculated step to stay on the Tour and not defect to the LIV league. As a result of his decision, he’ll now get to play with the top-tier players at Augusta National.
