LOS ANGELES – For the past three days, this has felt like Ricky Fowler’s week, the US Open, the first major tournament he’s won.
Then Sunday came.
The final round of the 123rd US Open at Los Angeles Country Club turned a dream week into a nightmare for Fowler, who opened the day tied for the lead and closed it out five shots behind winner Windham Clark after shooting a 5-over-par 75 to finish tied for fifth.
“I just didn’t get it today,” Fowler said. “[My] Iron play was below average and didn’t make anything [putts]. This is something important in the majors, especially on Sundays. Making playgrounds and kind of keeping them somewhat stress free. It was kind of the opposite. I’ve been fighting through it all day. ”
This was a renaissance week of sorts for Fowler, who hadn’t won in four years and only played in three majors in the past four years because his world ranking was so low.
He shot a 62 in the first round and was level with Xander Schauffele and took a piece of the lead throughout the three days leading up to Sunday.
“I was really excited about how I felt this week, how comfortable I felt to go out and support my first round and continue to play well,” Fowler said. “I enjoyed that. You learn from all your experiences. Not the position I wanted to be in after today, but a lot of good things that came out of this week.
“As disgusting as it is to not be in the position I wanted to be in after today, we just keep building and keep moving forward. I definitely think we’re heading in the right direction. It’s been nice to come back and get chances in tournaments or at least have strong finals and turn around weeks where I might not have my best and maybe finish top 20 or top 10 or whatever that may be.
It was Fowler’s 13th top 10 in a major and ninth top five finisher — all without a win.
“I feel like I’m getting the most out of those weeks knowing that when I have my good stuff, I know I can come and go with anyone.” “We had a lot of good stuff this week. Unfortunately, today we were unable to move forward. The past ten or twelve months have been great. I’m heading in the right direction, and we’re still moving forward. ”
