Rickie Fowler turned down LIV Golf to stay with the PGA Tour.. (Image: Getty)
Rickie Fowler was heavily linked with a move to join rebels at LIV Golf last year, but chose to stick with the PGA Tour and will be defending his Rocket Mortgage Classic title this week.
Fowler, who emerged as one of golf’s most promising talents over ten years ago, had seen his form on the PGA Tour decline in recent years before making a comeback at Detroit Golf Club last July. After defeating Collin Morikawa and Adam Hadwin in a nail-biting playoff, Fowler celebrated his first PGA Tour victory in four-and-a-half years.
During his slump, Fowler was rumoured to be high on the wish list of LIV chief Greg Norman, who had already attracted some of the 35-year-old’s fellow big names, including Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka.
However, Fowler decided to stay with the PGA Tour and declared that such a move “wasn’t the best choice for me”, showing where his loyalties lie in a telling message to the Saudi-backed competing tour.
While appearing on Netflix’s Full Swing show, Fowler addressed his links to the LIV setup and explained precisely why he declined the Saudi switch. “[Joining LIV] wasn’t the best choice for me,” the six-time PGA Tour winner said.
“I’m not out there playing for a paycheck, I’m out there playing to compete with the best players in the world and I believe the Tour is the best place to be. I’d like to see it continue to be like that.”
Rickie Fowler clinched the Rocket Mortgage Classic title last year. (Image: Getty)
Since his victory last July, Fowler has struggled to regain his top form, failing to put himself back in contention so far this season. However, he showed signs of improvement at the Travelers Championship last week, finishing in the top 20, and he is hoping to build on this in Detroit.
“I started to score a little bit better last week, which is obviously kind of the name of the game, putting up good numbers,” he said on Wednesday. “Putted well last week. Yeah, kind of the first week to kind of see some good progress and kind of build some momentum and some confidence going into this week.
“Looking forward to being back and picking up where we left off last year. I haven’t played quite that well since then, so yeah, it would be nice to kind of get things going again this week here at Rocket.”
Not only does Fowler want no part of any LIV invitation, he disagreed with Rory McIlroy that those who defected should be welcomed back without any kind of fine or punishment.
“Probably not in the same spot that Rory – maybe we started in a similar area, but I think there’s been a little rollercoaster ride on his part,” Fowler explained.
“I feel like I’ve kind of maintained middle ground as far as learning about LIV when it was first coming about, and my belief in the Tour and that was always may dream to play the Tour.
“Always thought it was the best place to play and wanted to see it continue to be that. We’re in a different spot a few years down the road and I feel like when I talked about Cantlay, Jordan, Tiger, those guys, they put a lot of time and effort to put us in a better spot and make sure that the Tour continues to be the best place to play.”
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