Rickie Fowler nearly pulled off the impossible at Quail Hollow Club. Entering the final round seven shots back, he charged into a share of the lead before a misjudged breeze on the 72nd hole led to a costly bogey.

The fan favorite shot a blistering 6-under 65 on Sunday to finish the Truist Championship at 13-under par overall. Despite being "under the weather," Fowler's resilience brought him to a T2 finish, carding rounds of 74, 63, 69, and 65.

Fowler admitted his true feelings after the rally fell short, stating, "Obviously now, you know, bummed not to be in a position to at least maybe to be in a playoff or having a chance to win".

The surge began when he turned at 5-under par for the day after birdies on holes 7 and 9. Seeing leader Alex Fitzpatrick struggle, Rickie realized he was squarely in the mix for the title.

"Making birdie on 9 to turn at 5-under, that's kind of when it was like, all right, we got nine holes in front of us, let's go have some fun, and there was a lot of good stuff," Fowler remarked.

The momentum stalled at the very end when he misjudged the wind on the 18th. "Maybe got the breeze a little bit wrong there on 18, but yeah, felt fun to be in the mix," Fowler explained.

Round 1 saw a shaky Fowler, who had been battling a sinus infection, finish 3 over par. He quickly regained his momentum the very next day, shooting 63 going into the weekend.

Fowler's weekend performance seems to have been prompted by another friend's recent success.

Rickie Fowler Fueled by Friend's Motocross Success 

Long-time friend Ken Roczen fueled Fowler's mental toughness during the final stretch.

The German rider secured the Supercross championship the night before, overcoming several career-threatening injuries to finally reach the summit.

"I was thinking about him a bunch there because coming from behind and just dealing with the grind of it, luckily for us, if we miss a shot, we don't have to worry about it too much," Fowler said.

His connection to motocross helped Fowler maintain his composure during the intense competition. Fowler noticed that, unlike golfers, the risk of getting injured physically was always present for motocross competitors whenever they challenged themselves on the course.

In the end, he lost the tournament by two strokes to the winner, Kristoffer Reitan. Fowler ended with a score of 35 on the back nine with an overall score of 271 for his efforts.

As for the future, Fowler plans to pay more attention to the strategic planning of the courses and focus on his ability to hit good shots when needed to ensure a win.

With the 2026 PGA Championship teeing off on May 14, do you think Rickie Fowler will clinch a top-10 finish once again? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Abhishek Sharma

Edited by

Surjo Ray