Throughout a down period in his career that is now approaching three years, Rickie Fowler managed to maintain an air of positivity, sprinkled with some self-deprecation, while seemingly never allowing for any sort of dark moments to consume him.
He approached his slump with hard work, didn’t get impatient by moving on from his coach, John Tillery, talked a good game and simply expected his golf to one day cooperate.
Three tournaments into a new season and there are certainly plenty of positives for Fowler to build on, but also a slap of reality that played out over the weekend in Japan, where he was unable to take advantage of a small field and the chance to improve his world ranking.
Fowler certainly had plenty of time for reflection over recent months. He failed to qualify for either the Masters or the U.S. Open, firsts for him in 10 years. He didn’t make the FedEx Cup playoffs, meaning he was outside of the top 125 and not yet qualified for the 2022 Players Championship — a tournament he won with a stunning flourish in 2015.
The six-week break saw him go to work. He returned to competition and promptly missed the cut at the Shriner’s tournament in Las Vegas. But with a weekend off, he used the opportunity to visit his old coach, Butch Harmon, to make sure what he was working on got a stamp of approval.
With Harmon’s blessing and the ensuing confidence, Fowler took the 54-hole lead at the CJ Cup and ended up finishing tied for third behind winner Rory McIlroy. A victory would have solved a lot of problems, but given that Fowler’s last victory came at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in 2019, a strong showing was welcome.
“[It] was a very good week for me, especially after the last couple years,” Fowler said at the Zozo Championship in Japan. “I played very well tee to green. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a very good feel on the greens with speed, so that is where I struggled a little bit, but very happy with the ballstriking.
“That’s something we’ve been putting a lot of work in on the last couple years, especially the last couple of months — long time coming.”
Fowler’s long game was an issue for much of last season, when he ranked 89th in strokes gained tee to green on the PGA Tour. He ranked first at the CJ Cup, although his once extremely reliable putting stroke has cost him at times.
He hoped to take that momentum to Japan, but it didn’t materialize, which highlights the difficulty Fowler faces in returning to an elite level. He had slipped to 128th in the world after missing the cut in Las Vegas, jumped to 82nd with his tie for third at the CJ Cup, then lost three spots after a tie for 44th at the Zozo. Fowler never broke par in the limited-field event and now needs to decide how much to tee it up in the remaining events of 2021.
After this week’s Bermuda Championship, there are just three tournaments — Mayakoba in Mexico, the Houston Open and the RSM Classic.
The top 50 in the world at the end of 2021 receive a Masters invite, and that’s reason enough for Fowler to add a couple of those tournaments — although it does him no good to finish well down the list. Top-10 finishes are the only meaningful way to move up. Short of that, Fowler will head into 2022 with a lot of doubts about his playing schedule.
In order to make the Masters field, he will need to either win a PGA Tour event or be among the top 50 in the world two weeks prior to the first major championship. Winning would also get him in the Players, as would being among the top 50 in the world or top 10 in FedEx Cup points.
“Everyone’s gone through ups and downs in golf,” he said. “When you’re in those low points, there’s times when you wonder like ‘Am I ever going to be back in that position?’ Obviously you believe that you can, but there’s those thoughts [that] golf is obviously one of the most humbling sports there is and you can never take it for granted.
“So being in those positions, you know where you want to be, you know you can be there, you’ve been there before, but it seems like a long uphill battle. It’s definitely been humbling. We’ve been patient, but it’s nice to see some stuff start paying off.”
Hideki’s homecoming
Hideki Matsuyama capped off a historic year with a victory in his home country, the only PGA Tour event to be staged in Japan. But it was far from easy. While the 5-shot margin of victory might appear routine, Matsuyama trailed Cameron Tringale by a shot through 10 holes on Sunday and then produced three birdies over the next six holes to take the lead.
Even standing on the 18th tee, after bogeying the 17th hole, Matsuyama led by just 2 shots.
But from more than 240 yards, he powered his second shot onto the par-5 green and then made the eagle putt. And for one of the rare times, Matsuyama let loose some emotion and a big smile.
The 2021 Masters champion added a second victory this year after missing out on a medal at the Olympics, also in his home country. It was his seventh PGA Tour win.
Prior to the tournament, Matsuyama had said his form was nowhere near what it was when he won the Masters.
“I would rate my performance as a 2 or 3,” Matsuyama said afterward. “From the results perspective, it went to about 8, but I think it’s because all the energy that I was getting from the fans and I was very surprised how much energy I was feeding off of them.”
Matsuyama, 29, who once was ranked as high as second in the world, has climbed back to 12th.
Saudi releases
It will be interesting to see how the PGA Tour and commissioner Jay Monahan decide to proceed with several players seeking releases to play in the Saudi International tournament early next year.
Golfweek reported last week that eight players, including defending champion Dustin Johnson, sought the releases — which are required to play in a conflicting event opposite the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Typically this is not a problem, and the tour has granted numerous such releases in the past.
But last year the European Tour dropped its sanctioning of the event, and the PGA Tour said it would not give releases to players wishing to play in an unsanctioned tournament. The Asian Tour has sanctioned the tournament — after considerable backing from Saudi Golf, which made a $100 million investment.
The PGA Tour last year formed a strategic alliance with the European Tour and is trying to enhance its offerings to fend off talk of a rival tour supported by the Saudi government known as the Super Golf League.
At issue is the tour’s ability to restrict its members, who are independent contractors. The tour has rules that require releases to play in competing events.
Langer’s longevity
Bernhard Langer won his first PGA Tour Champions event in 2007. Fourteen years later, he is still going strong. His victory on Sunday at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic gave him a win in 15 straight years. At age 64, he is the oldest champion in the Tour’s history.
The two-time Masters champion and European Ryder Cup star had not won since early 2020. He defeated Doug Barron in a sudden-death playoff.
Langer is one of just a handful of players to win in their 60s and surpassed Scott Hoch, who was 63 when he won in 2019. When Langer won the 2020 Cologuard Classic, he was the fifth-oldest winner in tour history. He now has 42 Champions wins, three behind the record held by Hale Irwin.
Langer also accumulated 42 victories on the European Tour, the first in 1980 at the Dunlop Masters.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Jordan Staal broke the record for games played as a Carolina Hurricane and then missed a long stretch of Thursday night’s game after a rare fight.
It turned out to be a rewarding evening as the Hurricanes beat the Minnesota Wild 4-3.
The Carolina captain played in his 910th game in a Hurricanes jersey, pulling ahead of brother Eric Staal.
“I appreciate the boys battling it out for me there,” Staal said. “Getting a good memory out of milestone game and getting the two points. It has been a fun ride. It has been a lot of fun with these guys here and all the other teammates I’ve played with it has been just a joy and blessing and I’m just happy to keep going.”
Jordan Staal, 37, is third in franchise history in games played when the team’s time as the Hartford Whalers is included behind Ron Francis (1,186) and Glen Wesley (913).
“He comes to the rink every day and puts the team first,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “In today’s day and age, it’s not unique, but it’s getting harder and harder to find.”
Staal was involved in his first fight since February 2017, when he rushed Minnesota’s Tyler Pitlick in the first period after Pitlick’s blow to the head of Hurricanes defenseman Jalen Chatfield.
“He’s our leader,” Brind’Amour said. “We talk a lot about him and we can’t say enough great things. That’s just another one of those things he does for our group and is willing to do.”
That scuffle drew Staal a five-minute fighting major and a 10-minute instigator penalty, even though Pitlick was done for the night with a match penalty.
After returning to the ice, Staal’s influence remained high. He won his final 10 faceoffs.
Chatfield’s injury marked another blow to the Hurricanes’ defensive corps.
“It’s just the way this year has gone,” Brind’Amour said. “We can’t get healthy and keep losing key pieces, that’s rough. I don’t know how long (Chatfield) is going to be out.”
Carolina has already been without Jaccob Slavin and Shayne Gostisbehere because of injuries, though the Hurricanes got K’Andre Miller back Thursday after a six-game absence with a lower-body injury. Miller played more than 23 minutes.
The Hurricanes have back-to-back games this weekend, facing Buffalo at home Saturday and visiting Toronto on Sunday.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Blues forward Jordan Kyrou was a healthy scratch for Thursday night’s game at Buffalo as St. Louis coach Jim Montgomery tries to spark improvement from his struggling team.
The Blues are 1-6-2 in their past nine games and entered Thursday in 15th place in the Western Conference with a 4-9-2 record. St. Louis followed a 3-2 win at home against Edmonton with a 6-1 road loss at Washington on Wednesday night.
Montgomery held a mandatory morning skate before playing in the second game of a back-to-back Thursday in Buffalo.
“If you have competitive fire in your belly, struggles like this provide opportunities to grow stronger together when you face these again,” Montgomery said after the practice.
Kyrou is tied for second on the Blues with eight points in 14 games and has led the team in goals in each of the past three seasons. Kyrou has not recorded a point in his past five games. This is the first time in five seasons that the 27-year-old winger has been a healthy scratch. He has 154 goals and 340 points in 430 NHL games.
Alexandre Texier replaced Kyrou at right wing on the Blues’ top line.
BATON ROUGE, La. — Former LSU coach Brian Kelly shared a statement on social media to fans Thursday, a little more than a week after he was fired in the fourth season of his 10-year, $100 million contract.
“The journey began with great expectations with my own vision of how to get there,” Kelly said. “Sometimes the journey does not end the way we hope.
“But when I think of our time together, I will remember and appreciate what we did accomplish. … The roar of Death Valley when we beat Alabama. The losses will always hurt, but I will remember all the wins.”
Kelly was 34-14 with the Tigers over three-plus seasons, helping them reach the 2022 Southeastern Conference title game. They didn’t qualify for the College Football Playoff in his first three seasons and were virtually eliminated from contention with his last loss.
LSU has won three national titles this century — in 2003, 2007 and 2019. The most recent came under Kelly’s predecessor, Ed Orgeron.
Kelly called it a privilege to coach exceptional student-athletes, among them 2023 Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels and 39 SEC Academic Honor Roll players in 2024.
Associate head coach Frank Wilson is the team’s interim coach for the rest of the season.
The Tigers (5-3, 2-3 SEC) host No. 7 Alabama (7-1, 5-0 SEC) on Saturday in their first game since Kelly was fired.
“As everyone heads on their way to see the Tigers play, I wish Coach Wilson, the coaches and our players the best this weekend,” Kelly said.
LSU ousted Kelly and athletic director Scott Woodward amid criticism from Gov. Jeff Landry.
The day of Kelly’s firing, Landry said he hosted a meeting in the governor’s mansion on the evening of Oct. 26 “to discuss the legalities of the contract.” Landry had said he was concerned his state would be on the hook to pay for Kelly’s buyout, which is about $54 million.
Days after Kelly’s firing, Landry told reporters that Woodward would not select the next coach. The next day, LSU cut ties with Woodward.
The 64-year-old Kelly has gone 200-76 in Division I since being hired by Central Michigan in 2004. He was 113-40 at Notre Dame and had 34-6 mark at Cincinnati. Kelly was 118-35-2 at Grand Valley State University in Michigan, winning two Division II national titles during a run of three straight trips to the championship game.
