Sports Editor
In one of the most exciting finishes
you’ll ever see in golf, Rickie Fowler came away with the crystal trophy after
completing the best finish in Players Championship history.
Going into the final round at TPC Sawgrass
Rickie Fowler was -7 and only three off the lead, but he was not in one of the
final groups in a very crowded top of the leaderboard. After making bogey on
his first hole and Sergio Garcia extending the lead, Fowler was practically out
of contention and even his mom and sister left the tournament early to catch a
flight to California. By the time Fowler reached the par three 13th
hole he was -6 and six shots behind Garcia, but then he caught fire. He birdied
the 13th and the 15th to get to -8, three shots back with
three holes to play and perhaps the toughest three holes stretch on the entire
golf course, but Rickie Fowler made them look easy. Fowler hit an incredible
and gutsy second shot on the par five 16th that barely made it over
the water hazard and bounced on to the green and right next to the hole to give
him an eagle putt. That shot changed the tournament putting him only one shot
behind Garcia and he still had two holes to play. On the iconic 17th
hole, Fowler didn’t back down to the intimidating island green and very tough
pin placement. He fired a shot right at the hole, making birdie and earning a
share of the lead. Another aspect that made this tournament exciting was the
crowds. After Fowler made birdie on 17 the crowd exploded into chants of
“Rickie, Rickie, Rickie.” By the time he reached the 18th, Garcia
had dropped a shot so Fowler had the outright lead by one shot. To cap off the
historic finish he made birdie on the 18th to finish -6 in his final
six holes, the best finish in that span in tournament history. By this time his
mother and sister had gotten word and ditched their flight and came back to the
tournament. Fowler finished at -12 with a two shot lead, but the drama was only
getting started.
Seven groups were still behind Fowler
including Sergio Garcia, who had been leading for a majority of the afternoon.
The 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass is one of the most famous holes in all
of golf, one because of its beautiful island scenery, and two because of the
incredible golf shots that have been made over the years. On Sunday, the
scenery as always was there, and so were unbelievable golf shots. Garcia
entered the 17th hole only one behind Fowler and hit an unimpressive
tee shot on the green nowhere close to the hole. Garcia was heckled by the
obvious pro-Rickie crowd as he walked on to the green. That had no effect on
him as he sunk a 40 foot birdie putt to tie the lead. He would finish at -12,
tied with Fowler. Kevin Kisner, who was in the final group, also birdied the 17th
to get in a tie with the lead and had a birdie putt on the 18th to
win in it, but he missed it by a fraction of an inch and the championship would
go into a playoff.
The three golfers, Sergio Garcia, Rickie
Fowler, and Kevin Kisner, would play three holes (16, 17, and 18) and whoever
had the lowest score by the end of the three holes would win. All three were
tied following the 16th and then Rickie Fowler continued his
domination of the island green. After Kisner hit an impressive shot about 10
feet from the hole, Fowler one upped him drilling one to about five feet. Both
would make birdie and both would be tied after the 18th, so back to
the 17th they would go. Garcia was eliminated so the two would dual
it out on the iconic hole. Fowler showed off his dominance of the hole once
again hitting a very dangerous shot that landed just a few feet from the pin.
Fowler sunk the putt and won The Players Championship.
This was only Rickie Fowler’s second win
on the tour and it comes on a big stage. The Players is not a major, but it
certainly has all the makings of one. Fowler does not have very many wins but
has had success. In fact last year, he finished top five in all four majors, a
feat only Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus have accomplished. This win also
silenced Fowler’s critics. Prior to the tournament, an anonymous player’s poll
voted him and Ian Poulter as the two most overrated players on tour.
They may have called him overrated, but
Rickie Fowler responded with greatness.
