Rickie Fowler wins Rocket Mortgage Classic playoff, ends 4-year drought

By LARRY LAGE, AP Sports Writer

DETROIT — Rickie Fowler made a 12-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, outlasting Collin Morikawa and Adam Hadwin two weeks after squandering a chance to win his first major at the U.S. Open.

The 34-year-old Fowler got his first PGA Tour victory since winning the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open. He had the 54-hole lead at last month’s U.S. Open and in one tournament in each of the previous two years.

After getting knocked down on the leaderboard at Detroit Golf Club on Sunday, Fowler, a Murrieta native, responded on his 72nd hole of the tournament with an approach from 145 feet that left him with a 3-foot birdie put to pull into a three-way tie with Morikawa, a La Cañada High School alum, and Hadwin at 24 under.

Fowler hit an errant tee shot way right in the playoff and after a drop, his approach from 184 landed 11 feet from the cup.

Morikawa, meanwhile, was just inches long on his approach and instead of having the ball spin back to the hole, it bounced into the rough and his chip was short of the cup.

Hadwin had the first chance to make a birdie in the playoff and his 22-foot put curled just past the hole.

Then, Fowler stepped up with a desperately needed clutch put to win.

Morikawa shot an 8-under 64, faring better than Hadwin (67) and Fowler (68) in the final round.

While Fowler faltered, going 10 straight holes settling for pars on a relatively easy course, Morikawa had four birdies on both the front and back nine. Morikawa made a 10-foot putt at No. 12, his fourth birdie in a six-hole stretch that put him within a shot of Fowler, and his nine-footer for birdie at No. 14 pulled him into a tie with Fowler at 23 under.

Monday qualifier Peter Kuest (65), Lucas Glover (65) and Taylor Moore (67) were tied for fourth at 21 under. Kuest, who started the week ranked 789th in the world, did well enough to earn a spot in this week’s John Deere Classic in Illinois.

Play was suspended Saturday for 1 hour, 42 minutes because of lightning and the schedule for the final round was adjusted due to inclement weather in the forecast.

The leaders teed off Sunday morning about 5 hours before the original schedule with threesomes starting on both the front and back nine.