Veteran golfer Rickie Fowler posted a 1-under round of 71 during the first round of the PGA Championship Thursday, and he credited Michael Jordan for helping get his golf game back on track.
Fowler told reporters he had spent a lot of time playing with Jordan leading up the PGA Championship. The five-time PGA Tour winner said golfing with “His Airness” was tremendous preparation for the second major championship of the year:
“I was 7-under par through 17 holes [recently] and lost,” Fowler said, per ESPN's Bob Harig. “And he's not quiet about it. [But] playing against MJ is as good as it gets for prep.”
Fowler was once a top star in the sport, and frequently mentioned in the “When will he win a major?” conversation. However, Fowler needed an exemption just to compete at the PGA Championship after falling to No. 128 in the world rankings.
The 32-year-old said he feels he has been doing a lot of things right, but hasn't made many putts. Fowler rolled in a few at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island on Thursday, and he attributed better success with the flat stick to the work he put in playing rounds with Jordan:
“It's nice to at least make some putts today” Fowler said, per Harig. “I hit some good putts, and I kind of attribute that to the work we put in earlier this week.”
Fowler finds himself two shots back of the current clubhouse lead (-3) heading into Round 2 of the PGA Championship. He is in great shape to at least make some noise and have a shot at contention.
It seems only right Rickie is turning the corner motivation from MJ.
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