SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – If you had to guess where Rickie Fowler would pick up his fifth PGA TOUR victory, the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale would be as good a guess as any. He was runner-up to Hideki Matsuyama in 2016, and T4 in 2017. Fowler was at it again in the first round Thursday, making four birdies, one bogey and a kick-in eagle at the 548-yard, par-5 15th hole. He was tied with Bryson DeChambeau and Billy Horschel after the morning wave of players had completed their opening rounds. “Yeah, after the first couple years here, I just figured it was a matter of time before I was the last one standing on Sunday,â€� Fowler said. “We have given ourselves some pretty good chances. Losing to Hideki two years ago in the playoff. It’s just a matter of time; I know I can win here, and sometimes you just got to be in the right place at the right time, or not got a bad kick on 17, but we’re going to get one.â€� It was two years ago here that Fowler endured one of the toughest losses of his career. Trying to win for the first time in the presence of his father, Rod, and grandfather, Taka, Fowler hit his tee shot to within nine feet for birdie at the rowdy, par-3 16th hole. With a make, he would have taken a three-shot lead over Matsuyama and Harris English with two holes to play. Then it all went bad. It wasn’t so much that Fowler missed the putt. It was that he then hit his tee shot into the water at the short, par-4 17th hole. Fowler initially opted to hit 3-wood off the tee but went with a driver and hit what he thought was a perfect shot. “I hit it right on line,â€� Fowler said later, his voice breaking. “Hit it exactly where I was looking.â€� Alas, the ball bounced off a downslope in front of the green and kept going, rolling into the water. Fowler bogeyed, Matsuyama birdied, and later won on the fourth hole of a playoff, 17 again, after Fowler found the water again, this time with a hooked 3-wood. One of the ways Fowler has dealt with that memory this week is by focusing on a different memory, the boy whom he calls his biggest fan, Griffin Connell. The 7-year-old was born with a respiratory disorder but became a fixture at the WMPO, cheering Fowler on until he died last month. Fowler’s Puma cap on Thursday featured a pin with a photo of Griffin. “He was just a huge fan of the game,â€� Fowler said. “I was lucky to have him as, I claim him as being my number one fan. … It just makes you appreciate the position that a lot of us are in. Even if I hit a bad shot out there in past years, you would look over and see him and he was pumped and excited to be out there watching us.â€� OBSERVATIONS Prior to his breakthrough at the John Deere Classic last season, Bryson DeChambeau missed 14 cuts, including eight in a row at one point. One player who helped him get through that tough stretch: fellow Puma golfer Rickie Fowler. “He’s so good at understanding,” DeChambeau said of his fellow co-leader. “Told me that it’s a long game, it’s not easy, and you got to make sure that everything is focused in on the day and you can’t be tired for it.” The absence of humidity in the Valley of the Sun allows for temperature swings of 30-35 degrees in a 24-hour period. Early starter Billy Horschel was one of those who adjusted his strategy accordingly, and it was enough to take a share of the early lead. “Obviously the ball doesn’t travel very far, the greens are still frozen a little bit from the night, but once the temperature rises, the greens soften up,â€� Horschel said. “You can be a little aggressive.â€� That he was, missing only three greens in regulation and pouring in five birdies. NOTABLES • Jon Rahm, second in the FedExCup and second in the Official World Golf Ranking, shot a 4-under 67. The ASU product would not ascend to No. 1 in the world with a victory this week. • Phil Mickelson, playing with fellow ASU alumnus Jon Rahm, shot a 1-under-par 71. • Xander Schauffele, playing with Rahm and Mickelson and making his first WMPO start, double-bogeyed the par-4 fifth hole but still shot 3-under 68. • Steve Stricker, 50, was in good position after an opening-round 68. QUOTABLES “Yeah, my head. We tried chopping it off, but we realized if that happened, it wasn’t going to be a good scenario.” — Horschel on the scrapped solution for his first-round scoring woes. He carded a dozen over-par scores in opening rounds last season and ranked 164th in R1 scoring average. “I was a little more nervous than I was at the Masters when I was an amateur.” — DeChambeau on his first experience at the 16th hole, where he hit his tee ball to inside seven feet but made par. “With a breakfast ball, I’m two better.â€� – Brian Gay, after hitting his opening tee shot out of bounds but still carding a 4-under 67. “I was a little disappointed in some of the stuff that was said.â€� — Fowler on fans at the 16th hole, where he made his only bogey of the day. “If I were to lose a tournament to somebody, I would probably choose that person to be Phil.â€� — Rahm on his fellow ASU alumnus and friend Mickelson. BEST OF SOCIAL
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