Rickie Fowler is probably at the top of the best player not to win a major list, or at least he’s the player golf fans root so hard to see finally win one.
He’s gotten so close at all four majors but has fallen just short and lately, he’s been struggling: he’s missed two cuts in 2021 and finished no better than 20th in any tournament he’s played in since September.
Which brings us to what Sir Nick Faldo said on Twitter about Fowler who is currently on the outside looking in on making the cut to play in the 2021 Masters.
Faldo said this in response:
To be fair, he’s hardly alone in that assessment. Our Eamon Lynch wrote back in December that Fowler’s tale was a cautionary one about overexposure:
There was a period when Fowler’s ample screen time on Sunday afternoons was earned through his fine play. Now that time is paid for by a seemingly endless parade of partners confident that Fowler can help them sell everything from insurance and automobiles to mortgages and underwear. It’s the Arnold Palmer business model, and more power to Fowler for leveraging it so astutely. But at what cost to his career?
Still, it felt like Faldo didn’t have to go there. He called it “motivation.”
There are other ways to motivate players, even if you’re claiming you’re joking. This, however, feels unnecessary.