They’re bold, they’re confident and they embody the culture change needed to kick-start a USA side that’s lost six of the last seven Ryder Cups. Fowler leads the field this week in scrambling, and despite three trips around one of the most brutish layouts the PGA Tour has to offer, his lone dropped shot stems from a 4-foot putt that horseshoed back in his face during the opening round. Reed missed a 5-foot birdie putt on the 17th, and his 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole nearly missed weakly to the right.
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Fowler will be playing alongside Ryder Cup hopeful Patrick Reed, who like Fowler, needs a good round to secure an automatic spot.
Reed is scrambling for one of the last three automatic spots on the USA team to take on holder Europe at Hazeltine outside Minneapolis from September 30-Oct. 2. Fowler was at No. 12 going into the opening FedEx Cup event with its $8.5 million purse and needed at least a third-place finish to earn a spot.
His work is not done.
Rickie Fowler remains vigilant in his fight to make the U.S. Ryder Cup team by taking the outright lead after the third round of the Barclays on Saturday.
Rickie Fowler continued to plot his way meticulously around the fearsome Bethpage Black course as he earned a one-shot lead after the third round of The Barclays. Adam Scott is a proven victor and just 2 strokes back; right behind him, Martin Laird is coming on strong lately, and Emiliano Grillo is a ball striker extraordinaire; behind them, the list includes world No. 1 Jason Day among a group of impressive talents.
Day, who has won seven tournaments over the past 12 months, made a sizzling start with five birdies in his first seven holes before dropping four shots over the next three.
Top-ranked Australian Jason Day. who triumphed by six shots previous year when the tournament was held at Plainfield Country Club, carded a 70 to sit four strokes off the pace, level with Laird (72) and reigning FedExCup champion Jordan Spieth (67).
Fowler’s best finish this season was a runner up at the Phoenix Open in February, when he lost to Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama in a playoff.
“It was nice to see some putts go in”.
“Him and I, we spent a lot of time together growing up”, Fowler explained.
The results? A two-stroke lead at 8-under-par 134 after two rounds at The Barclays.
There’s an excellent chance that if either player fails to qualify for the United States team, captain Davis Love III would seriously consider him as one of his four wild-card selections.
“It was a little hard out there but I felt like I ground it out pretty good”, Day said. “I just got to take care of business tomorrow”, said Fowler. It’s been awhile since I’ve been in this position.
“It’s only going to get tougher on the weekend”, Day said.
The 27-year-old California native has three career PGA Tour victories, all of which have come after trailing through 36 holes.
“We’re going to have some fun”, Fowler said. “Today I just had no clue where it was going”. He muffed a chip on the fifth hole and made bogey, then drove well right into a bunker and made another bogey on the sixth hole.
Reed, meanwhile, battled a wayward driver on the front nine, but did enough to stay well in contention.
Fowler, No. 8 in the World Golf Rankings, utilized a little of that magic on the No. 18 green, sinking a five-foot birdie putt to give him sole possession of the lead. “I saw him on the putting green before I left the tee since he was playing behind me (in Round 3)”. “I knew anything under par on the back, I would have a great round, and that was kind of my goal. But I felt I grinded it out pretty good”. “Hopefully, something to build on for tomorrow and beyond”. As the storied municipal course continues to dry out, conditions should only get firmer, making play even more treacherous.
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Spieth played shot 31 on the front nine, including a 6-iron that hopped out of the rough to 3 feet on the par-5 fourth hole for an eagle, and shot a 67 to get back into the mix.
