Rickie Fowler narrowly avoided missing the cut at The Players Championship but his second round of 69 was significantly better than the 74 he produced on Thursday.
However, in the third round, he failed to build on the previous day's three-under effort as he headed back to the clubhouse tied for 72nd after a disappointing 76. That was not helped by an incident on the 16th hole, where he shouted at a fan after he was apparently distracted mid-swing.
Fans were reminded by Fowler’s caddie Ricky Romano to put their phones on silent mode before the six-time PGA Tour winner took his tee shot, but those requests appeared to have gone unheeded.
Fowler drove his ball 288 yards onto the fairway, but he clearly wasn’t happy with one fan. Immediately after completing his swing, he turned and pointed at the fan and shouted: “You! What are you doing?” as he took several steps towards the crowd before heading away. That led to Romano saying to the fans, “Come on, I just said something.”
Rickie Fowler angrily pointed at a fan who had made a noise just as he tee'd off on the 16th hole at TPC Sawgrass in The Players Championship 😠 pic.twitter.com/bdONEUMpw8March 16, 2024
The tense moment appeared to have rattled Fowler after his second shot landed in the water. It then got worse for the American, whose fourth also failed to clear the water. After another drop, Fowler recovered brilliantly with his sixth to land six inches from the hole to huge cheers before settling for a double-bogey seven.
Fowler then completed his round with a pair of pars to finish four-over for the day, with the 16th hole the glaring blemish in a round that also featured three bogeys and a birdie.
Fowler has endured a tough start to 2024, with a T35 at the Genesis Invitational his best finish from seven starts before this week’s event. That dip in form has come after a resurgent 2023 that included victory at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Even then, Fowler, who is generally seen as one of the most popular players on the Tour, didn't have an entirely smooth ride with the fans. At The Open, he revealed one fan had heckled him by calling him a "coward" after pulling out of a potential investment in Leeds United soccer club.
