Nick Faldo reacts to suggestion he's not getting in Rickie Fowler's head anymore

Sir Nick Faldo reckons his retirement from the commentary booth has nothing to do with Rickie Fowler's mini PGA Tour resurgence.

Ben Smith

13 Feb 2023

Nick Faldo reacts to suggestion he's not getting in Rickie Fowler's head anymore — Nick Faldo reacts to suggestion he's not getting in Rickie Fowler's head…

The first thing to point out is that there is no fresh beef between Sir Nick Faldo and Rickie Fowler.

You might remember that Faldo once took a cheap shot at Fowler's off-course activities when he was really struggling in 2020.

Faldo argued that Fowler had "more time to shoot commercials" when the fan-favourite was in danger of missing out on the 2021 Masters.

We should clarify that it's all water under the bridge now. Faldo apologised. Fowler said he understood where Faldo was coming from.

Fowler now appears to be making some strides with his game. Butch Harmon reckons he'll win again. And this year, too.

He finished T-6 at the Fortinet Championship, T-2 at the ZOZO Championship, and he's had two more top-15 finishes in recently.

The American, now 34, at one point looked as though he could be a factor during the final round of the WM Phoenix Open.

A stunned Fowler made a hole-in-one at No. 7 but immediately followed that by dropping two shots on his way to a T-10 finish.

In the end, Scottie Scheffler scooped the mammoth pay cheque at the elevated event.

Still, it's good signs for the player many argue is one of the best to have never ticked off a major championship.

One Twitter user pointed out that his mini-resurgence was down to Faldo "not getting in his head anymore".

Faldo responded:

Oh, it’s his excellent swing change/rebuild confidence booster! #Commitment https://t.co/58Yvw8iE0p
— Sir Nick Faldo (@NickFaldo006) February 12, 2023

"I understand what he's going through"

Another player who has struggled in recent years is Jason Day.

He's had his injury problems and understandably has struggled after the death of his mother Dening last March.

Day knows what Fowler has gone through. Day also played well at TPC Scottsdale and was paired with Fowler during the final round.

He told the media:

"Yeah, I've been good mates with Rickie for a long time. We came out pretty much the same year. I understand what he's going through. I think he understands what I'm going through as well.

"So it's nice to see him playing some really good golf because for a moment there both of us weren't playing great. I don't think our head space was in the best of shape.

"Sometimes you feel like -- you're playing against the best players in the world, but sometimes it's just you don't believe in yourself and you kind of lose trust in your ability. It's nice to be able to see him back playing some really good golf.

"Because I played 18 holes with him today and he was definitely the favourite pretty much around the whole golf course. Every hole they're screaming at him.

"But very rarely do you see a hole-in-one as well. It was nice to be able to see him hole out because obviously when he holes out they're going to go even crazier."

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