Rickie Fowler on his shaky first round finish? "I needed to go to the bathroom"

Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa both made strong starts at the Rocket Mortgage Classic on the PGA Tour at Detroit Golf Club.

Ben Smith

29 Jun 2023

Rickie Fowler on his shaky first round finish? "I needed to go to the bathroom" — Rickie Fowler on his shaky first round finish? "I needed to go to the…

Rickie Fowler continued his good form on the PGA Tour this season with an opening 5-under 67 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, but the American revealed he desperately needed to go to the bathroom so that's why he was 'a little shaky' over his final holes.

The field in Detroit is absent of the firepower of recent weeks but Fowler is joined by the likes of Collin Morikawa and defending champion Tony Finau.

Although he is not in the field, Rory McIlroy is in the area and took part in a mammoth five-hour meeting with the PGA Tour's Policy Board on Wednesday.

They were discussing the PGA Tour's deal with LIV Golf's Saudi backers. The PGA Tour released a statement after the meeting. Two high-ranking execs also provided an update on the health of under fire PGA Tour boss Jay Monahan.

Fowler started on the back nine and turned in 3-under 33, his only bogey coming at No. 11 when he missed his tee shot left in the bunker.

Despite splashing out to 10ft, Fowler was unable to save par. Returning home, he made four more birdies before making bogey at his last hole.

Fowler said:

"I had to go to the bathroom pretty badly, so luckily I just got drug tested so I went straight in. There weren't many bathrooms the last five holes so I was a little shaky coming in, and not to necessarily blame the finish on that, but it didn't help.

"Still a solid day, a lot of good stuff, off to a good start and that's really all you hope for on a Thursday to get a tournament going is get out moving in the right direction.

"And yeah, now going out with the little one, rest up. We've been on a pretty big stretch and looking forward to a couple days off next week before we head overseas."

Morikawa, who has been left frustrated with his poor form this season, also posted a 6-under 66 at Detroit Golf Club.

Elsewhere, Dustin Johnson's adidas Golf replacement, young Swede Ludvig Aberg, flirted with a 59 on day one.

Aberg was 9-under through 16 holes but made bogey to lose his momentum. He also made bogey on his final hole to post a 7-under 65.

England's Aaron Rai (65) also started well. As did reigning U.S. Amateur champ Sam Bennett, who recently turned pro.

The Rocket Mortgage Classic has a total prize purse of $8.8m, meaning the winner will take home $1,584,000.