As his three-year win drought continues, six-time PGA Tour winner Rickie Fowler’s two-year health struggles have come to light. Surgery is now the last option.

The 2023 Rocket Classic title, won through an intense playoff, remains Fowler’s last win. It’s now clear that underlying medical issues have played a part in his winless slump.

"He's had a serious sinus infection for more than two years, and after this season concludes — they've tried all the antibiotics and medicine – they're going to have to do surgery," PGA Tour Radio play-by-play announcer Doug Bell said.

"He said he's not looking forward to it and it really has held him back, and that's kind of unknown. We didn't know that about Rick," Doug added, as reported by The Mirror's Sam Frost on August 2.

This revelation explains the gap between Fowler's talent and recent results.

Bell was at the Rocket Classic over the weekend and witnessed Fowler falling short on Sunday.

Fowler's chance to repeat history was gone as he finished T8 after a promising 56 holes. He’ll now look ahead to the surgery that has marred his last two seasons.

Earlier in May, at the Truist Championship, Fowler struggled with a fever and sinus infection. 

"I was battling a bit of a sinus infection early in the week. Tuesday night, Wednesday night, probably 102, 103," Fowler said while playing in the Truist Championship. "I was a little loopy and didn't quite feel like my head was in the right spot on my body. So I tried to fight through yesterday the best I could." 

Despite his struggles, Fowler went as high as a second-place finish at Quail Hollow. However, it's fair to say that he has had enough with the stubborn infection.

After the end of the FedEx Cup playoffs, Fowler will finally address the issue.

Fowler felt bummed at Detroit, knowing one of his favorite events won't return next year.

Fowler bids farewell to Rocket Classic as title sponsor exits

Rickie Fowler was certainly the crowd favorite at the Rocket Classic. The former champion was one of the fans when expressing his thoughts about the event.

"It's definitely been a bummer to kind of come into this knowing it was the last one," Fowler said, as per The Mirror's Sam Frost on August 1. "It's been fun for me to have a partnership with Rocket and see this event make its way here because that was always a dream of theirs to have an event back in Detroit, and to see it continue to grow over the years, I felt like it just kept getting bigger and better.”

Title sponsor Rocket Companies has parted ways, and the Detroit event has already been replaced.

The Rocket will be replaced by a new event in Napa, California, from 29th July to 1st August, sponsored by the Japanese firm Sompo. 

What are your thoughts on Rickie Fowler’s underlying medical issue? Let us know!

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Written by

Avishek Sarkar

Edited by

Rudra Dubey