The numbers above are a synecdoche.

At Detroit Golf Club, once the venue of his redemption, Fowler shot two 71s on Thursday and Friday to miss the cut by four strokes. Over the last five tournaments, this is how his record looks:

Erratic. Volatile. And uncertain.

At Rocket Classic, Fowler lost over a stroke through his driver and almost two strokes through his putter. His wedge game was non-existent (46.15% in scrambling). But they are a synecdoche for his overall performance.

PGA Tour stats show Fowler is either at the tail-end or outside the top-100 in most categories–SG: Total (101st), SG: Approach to Green (103rd), SG: Putting (94th), Greens In Regulation Percentage (123rd).

Yet, Rickie Fowler is a big name. No doubt, tournament organizers want Fowler to tee off for moments like this—Just watch how gracious he was with this teenage kid in Detroit.

No doubt, title sponsors wish Fowler to be in contention. But the six-time PGA Tour winner has made only one top-ten this season, and only five times has he been inside the top-25.

That’s a real shame for sponsors. But that’s also golf for you. He will tee off at the John Deere Classic, thanks to his 2023 victory at the Rocket. But that tournament winner exemption runs out this year. And the Orange Army has thinned, which ain’t a good sign. Sponsors might now think twice before extending an invitation—fans were already angry about the Travelers one…

So, Rickie, it’s time to find your mojo back. Quick!

Rocket Classic might not have been good for Rickie Fowler. Or, Max Homa. Or Wyndham Clark. Or Tom Kim. All of them left the Motor City early thanks to a missed cut. There were many others, too. Then there were those on the other side.

Chris Kirk—who had quit golf a few years ago while battling alcoholism and depression—is tied for the lead with Philip Knowles and Andrew Putnam with two rounds to go. More than 25 players are within a 5-shot lead of them.

But fortunately for us fans, a couple of pros, from both sides of the fence, gave us some dramatic scenes before heading their way.

Take Stephen Jaeger, for example. The German pro was so frustrated that he pulled off a Happy Gilmore live on camera. His tee shot on the par-5 4th went way left. And then he took it out on his driver. It wasn’t even a regular ol’ club smash, or heave-ho. Just look at what he did below. Have you ever seen anything like this in pro golf?

Jaeger missed the cut, in case you were wondering.

Interestingly, though, there were cases polar opposite to his, too! On Thursday, a bunch of players matched the course record: 63. Then Kevin Roy posted a 62. He held that record alone for about ten minutes, until Aldrich Potgieter posted another 62.

Ironically, they both held the record for less than 24 hours.

Jake Knapp, who shot 59 some four months ago, and sent his girlfriend into a frenzy (she was literally cursing out of disbelief), posted an 11-under 61 yesterday. He now holds the course record at two different PGA Tour courses!

Thanks to his Friday performance, the 31-year-old vaulted 122 spots on the leaderboard, moving from a potential missed cut to a T7 with two rounds to go.

We’ve all been there—30 to 50 yards out, too close for a full swing, too far for a simple chip. If only we were Hideki Matsuyama (he led the Tour in SG: Around-the-Green last year) and could pull off back-to-back chip-in hole outs like he did this Thursday. Well, maybe you can, if you follow these steps:

Practice hitting 10 shots at different lengths to understand where you’re lacking. Remember: the more you try, the better you‘ll get. And if you think you’re already good enough, try this:

Well, folks, it ain’t just Detroit where the barometer of frustration was going up. Some 1000 miles south, in Carrollton, Dallas, another player lost it. And it wasn’t just some unrecognized LIV golfer. It was five-time major champ Brooks Koepka. Again, a wayward tee shot was to blame. The Smash GC captain took his team name a little too literally and whammed his club right after he clocked the ball flight.

He wasn’t done, though. The rest of it, better watch it yourself below.

On a serious note, Brooks also withdrew after 8 holes due to illness. So, most likely, that has something to do with his unusual outburst. Get well soon, champ.