Rickie Fowler earns crucial ranking points with top performance in '24'
Rickie Fowler embarked on the lengthy journey back to his home state of Florida from Japan on Monday, likely using some of his time in the air to contemplate whether or not to add more tournaments to his fall schedule.
Fowler was ranked 111th in the FedEx Cup Fall standings just two weeks ago, but after a solo fourth place finish at the Zozo Championship on Sunday, he has jumped up to No. 92. This comes after a T23 finish at the Shriners Children's Open and a T16 finish at the Sanderson Farms Championship.
The former Ryder Cup player had committed to participating in three fall events after a long break from competition, in hopes of improving his standing for the 2025 season. With only three events left in the eight-tournament FedEx Cup Fall schedule, Fowler will not be playing in this week's World Wide Technology Championship in Mexico.
This leaves only the Butterfield Bermuda Championship and/or the season-ending RSM Classic for Fowler to potentially improve his ranking. He is also planning to compete in the Grant Thornton Invitational in mid-December, a mixed-team event co-sanctioned with the LPGA Tour that does not offer any FedEx Cup points.
The top 125 players in the standings will remain fully exempt for the 2025 season. While Fowler is most likely safely within the top 125, those who finish in the 51st-60th spots will serve as the Aon Next 10 and gain entry into the first two signature events of 2025, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Genesis Invitational.
During his time in Japan, Fowler was not specifically asked about his plans to add more events before the end of the year, but he was pleased with his performance at the Zozo Championship, where he carded four rounds of 68 or better. This also marked his 16th consecutive year with at least one top-10 finish on the PGA Tour.
"Excited about the way I've been able to play the few events that I've played this fall," Fowler said after his 64 tied for the low round on Sunday. "Not necessarily having my best, but seeing a lot of positives."
His strong showing in Japan helped Fowler rise seven spots to No. 66 in the Official World Golf Ranking, but he still has work to do in order to qualify for top-tier events outside of The Players next year.
"This one was great being back in contention," Fowler said on Sunday. "I was a little too far back, and never got close enough."
