Winner’s Bag: Chris Stroud

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GREENSBORO, N.C. – Rickie Fowler called it a “little kick in the butt.” That’s because the popular PGA TOUR veteran will miss the FedExCup Playoffs this year after making an early exit on Friday at the Wyndham Championship. Fowler came to Sedgefield Country Club ranked 130th in the standings but ended up going backwards after rounds of 71 and 72. It’s the first time in Fowler’s 12-year TOUR career that he won’t finish inside the top 125. “It’s a bummer and I don’t want to be in this position,” Fowler said. “Never been here. I’m used to being in contention, ready to go to East Lake and go have some fun through the Playoffs. That’s not the case this year. … Go home and get ready to go. Put the work in and get after it.” With the exception of the news that he and his wife Allison are expecting their first child, a daughter, in November, it’s been an eminently forgettable year for Fowler. He’s only had one top-10 finish in 24 starts this season, and this is his ninth missed cut. Fowler, who was once firmly entrenched among the top-10 players in the world, has slipped from 38th to No. 110 and finds himself searching for regain his form. “Yeah, it sucks,” Fowler said. “I mean, I know what I’m capable of; I’ve been up there and played against the best in the world and been a top-5, top-10 player in the world for a number of years in my career. “I’m not in a position where I’m comfortable or where I want to be. … With the season ending now for me, it’s kind of just added motivation; hey, let’s figure out what we need to go do and let’s go do it.” A tie for eighth at the PGA Championship appeared to be a positive step, and Fowler followed that with a share of 11th at the Memorial Tournament. He came to Greensboro with some momentum, too, on the heels of three straight made cuts. “It’s not far off, but there’s a lack of confidence there after not having played well very much over the last two years, so part of it is just need to get that built back up,” Fowler said. “A big part of it, too, is the reason I had some of those good results is my ball-striking was a little bit better, but the putter finally got back to where it should be. “That’s been something I’ve been able to rely on throughout my career and growing up is I’ve always been a really good putter. Over the last couple years I haven’t been able to rely on that. Not that I should have to every week, but when I’m putting well, should be in contention and having chances to win tournaments. So having off ball-striking weeks and not making putts on top of that, miss cuts and go home early.” Fowler ranked 131st in Strokes Gained: Putting entering the Wyndham Championship. Fowler says missing the Playoffs has made him even more determined to regain the kind of form that landed him on three Presidents Cup and four Ryder Cup teams, as well as in the 2016 Olympic Games. The first step, he says, is a call with his team to figure out how to best use the three-week layoff during the Playoffs to his advantage. “I was telling (caddie) Joe (Skovron) out there today towards the end, obviously weren’t going to make the cut, so it was a little bit more like I operate best when I’m kind of told what to do,” Fowler said. “Like I love having my trainer, Derek, he’s there with us at home, on the road taking care of what I need to be doing in the gym. … If I had to go work out on my own, I probably wouldn’t do as well. “So just being efficient with time and taking advantage of the time that we do have, whether it’s in the gym, at the range, on the course. So that’s the big thing is just kind of lay out a plan that we all want to accomplish and take advantage of the time that we have and get after it.”

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RIDGELAND, S.C. — Dustin Johnson got off to a fast start Thursday in his home-state Palmetto Championship at Congaree, shooting a 6-under 65 that left him a shot behind leader Wes Roach. RELATED: Leaderboard | Dustin Johnson starts fast with 65 at Palmetto Championship at Congaree Johnson, a South Carolina native, hadn’t played since missing the cut the last time he teed it up in the Palmetto State at the PGA Championship on Kiawah Island last month. Johnson appeared he might hold a share of the lead before Roach, a 32-year-old seeking his first PGA TOUR victory, rolled in a 19-footer for a go-ahead birdie on the 16th hole. Still, Johnson had a smooth, bogey-free round in the field’s first try at the Congaree Golf Club as the replacement tournament for the canceled RBC Canadian Open, called off a second straight season due to COVID-19 concerns. Roach, splitting time on the PGA TOUR and Korn Ferry Tour this season, shot his lowest PGA TOUR round since November 2019. He was a stroke in front of Johnson, Doc Redman, Chesson Hadley and South Africa’s Erik van Rooyen. Roach eagled the par-5 fourth, holing out from 105 yards on the 633-yard hole. Johnson was headed in the wrong direction at the Ocean Course three weeks ago, missing a major cut for the second time in as many months. But if anyone doubted his readiness for next week’s U.S. Open, Johnson easily brushed that aside with his stellar play over the firm fairways and curvy greens at the 4-year-old Tom Fazio course. At Congaree, he had four birdies in a seven-hole stretch, all on putts 10 feet or less including a two-putt birdie on the drivable, 370-yard third. Johnson chipped in from 82 feet away for his final birdie on No. 9 to tie Redman for the lead among the morning starters. Johnson was only thinking of a par save when he hit the shot and was overjoyed — well, about as overjoyed as the cool, calm Johnson can get — when it disappeared in the cup for his lowest round since shooting 65 in the second round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions last January. “I felt like I’ve been swinging well for a while now, just haven’t really seen the results or seen the scores,” Johnson said. “Made a few putts, but yeah, I mean just playing solid. Finally put a round together.” Redman was the first to reach 6 under with a run of four birdies over five holes on his back nine. Hadley’s approach on his next-to-last hole, the eighth, was 2 feet from the cup for his tying birdie. Van Rooyen was at 7 under through 14 holes. He made bogey on the sixth hole to fall back. Van Rooyen followed up his successful U.S. Open qualifying in Ohio earlier this week with a strong showing at Congaree. He had missed his last four cuts including the PGA Championship. He spent the past three weeks thinking about his performance and working his game. van Rooyen like what he saw Thursday. “I think I’m just sort of going forward,” he said. Brooks Koepka, playing for the first time since finishing second to Phil Mickelson at the PGA Championship, opened with a 72 and was seven shots behind the leaders. Koepka’s start wasn’t a good sign: the last four times he began a tournament over-par, he went on to miss the cut. A short time after Johnson finished, he was awarded the Order of the Palmetto from Gov. Henry McMaster on the club grounds. “It’s a special day for me and my family,” Johnson said of the state’s highest honor for a civilian. “I’ve always been a proud South Carolinian and I always will be.” Johnson said he was boosted by the strong crowd following him, not just here but at the RBC Heritage on Hilton Head and the PGA Championship this season. “I get a lot of support here in South Carolina, being a South Carolina native,” he said. “And, yeah, it’s been great” to play so much there. “Hopefully, I can keep it rolling for the rest of the week,” he said.

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