Rickie Makes Case For Big 4 With Win in Abu Dhabi
- Dan Hauser
- 25 Jan, 2016
A lot of talk during the (very) short offseason on the PGA Tour, in addition to the discussion about whether or not Jordan Spieth could repeat 2015, was if Rickie Fowler deserved to be mentioned in the same discussion as Spieth, Rory Mcclroy, and Jason Day. The “Big 4″ debate could be found on pretty much every golf website and on #golftwitter.
That debate has now all but come a reality after Fowler won yet again this weekend in Abu Dhabi at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship. The win was his fourth worldwide win in nine months, and came against a stacked field that included Jordan, Rory, Henrik Stenson, and Martin Kaymer.
”We had a very strong field here,” Fowler said. ”A lot of the guys were playing well. ”
Fowler got off to an inauspicious start, opening the event with a 70 and sitting several shot back of first round leader Bryson Dechambeau. He finished with rounds of 68, 65, and 69 to beat final round playing partner Thomas Pieters by one shot and get the win.
”I had a lot of fun going toe to toe with Thomas Pieters,” Fowler said while holding the trophy. ”This was my first full field in 2016 and is a great way to start.”
It truly was a fight to the finish Sunday for Fowler. After quickly getting his lead to four shots after six holes, Rickie had a costly double bogey at the seventh that saw his lead down to one. Fowler chipped in for eagle out of a greenside bunker at the eighth to get a little cushion pack and never looked back.
Pieters chased Fowler down at the end but it wasn’t quite enough. Fowler holed out again from just off the 17th green for a birdie to take a two-shot cushion down the last hole, but Pieters answered with a birdie (he missed his eagle putt by an inch). That put the pressure on Fowler when he came to 18 but he 2-putted his way to the victory.
The win moves Fowler to #4 in the OWGR, meaning that the talk of the “Big 4” is no longer an argument, it’s a reality (for this week at least).
The top 4 now reads: Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Rory Mcllroy, and Rickie Fowler.
While Day sat the week out, Spieth and Mcllroy joined Fowler in Abu Dhabi and put up pretty impressive performances as well.
Rory started his 2016 with a third place finish, finishing 2 shots behind Fowler, while a mentally and physically drained Spieth finished in a tie for fifth at 11-under.
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About Dan Hauser
As an avid golfer and sports enthusiast, Dan has had a passion for sports starting at a very young age. Dan’s other passion has always been writing. Since the time he could write, he has always enjoyed sharing information with people and telling stories through writing. In middle school he combined his two loves by joining the school newspaper in the sports department.
