Point Proven

After forming part of the USA’s task force, Rickie Fowler justified his captain’s pick by securing two points from three matches – his first two Ryder Cup victories.

- Robin Barwick

Rickie Fowler will never forget his first full point in the Ryder Cup, earned alongside Phil Mickelson in the Friday foursomes. One of the more surprising statistics leading in to the 41st Ryder Cup at Hazeltine, Minnesota was that in Fowler’s two past appearances – in 2010 at Celtic Manor and 2014 at Gleneagles – he had played a total of eight matches, winning nil points outright, losing three and halving five. But don’t forget, that was a gritty, hard-earned set of five halves won against strong European tides.

“With what Phil had helped put in place with the task force and in getting everyone involved with the Ryder Cup together and on the same page – including the PGA, players and caddies – there was a lot of pressure on both of us that day, going up against a strong European pairing in Rory [McIlroy] and ‘Sully’ [Andy Sullivan],” Fowler says.

Certainly US captain Davis Love III had faith in Californians Mickelson and Fowler as a pair in foursomes, golf’s ultimate test of teamwork, particularly in the opening Ryder Cup session, which establishes that critical yet elusive asset: momentum. Mickelson and Fowler were second in the foursomes line-up after Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed, a pair who have given new meaning to a ‘Texas two-step’ with their chargrilled intensity.