So, I was thinking about golf the other day, just kind of reflecting on some players. Rickie Fowler came to mind. You know, the guy with the bright orange outfits on Sundays. He’s been a big name for ages, seems like he’s always near the top of the leaderboard.
It got me genuinely curious. I thought to myself, ‘Okay, Rickie, flashy player, lots of fans… how many majors has he actually won?’ Because you see him in contention so often, especially a few years back, it felt like he must have snagged at least one or two.
So, I decided to check it out. Did the usual thing, just pulled out my phone while sitting on the couch and typed into the search bar: ‘Rickie Fowler major wins’. Simple enough, right?
First few results popped up. Saw mentions of The Players Championship. Yeah, I remember that one, big win for him back in 2015. Huge tournament, massive purse, stellar field. But, you know, while some folks call it the ‘fifth major,’ it isn’t technically one of the four official major championships. So, that wasn’t quite what I was looking for.
I scrolled down a bit more, looking specifically for Masters, U.S. Open, The Open Championship (or British Open, as I still sometimes call it), and PGA Championship wins.
Digging into the Results
What I started finding instead were articles and stats about how close he’s come. It was actually pretty surprising when I laid it all out.
- He finished second at the Masters.
- He finished second at the U.S. Open.
- He finished second at The Open Championship.
- And he had a top finish, third I think, at the PGA Championship too.
So, the actual number of major wins?
Zero. Nada. Zilch.
Honestly, that threw me for a loop. For a player of his caliber, popularity, and the number of times he’s been right there in the thick of it on a Sunday afternoon at a major, I just assumed he’d broken through at least once. It’s kind of wild when you think about it.
It just goes to show, I guess, how incredibly difficult it is to win one of those four big tournaments. The pressure, the history, the level of competition – it’s just a different beast. He’s had an amazing career, won big events like The Players, been a Ryder Cup star, but that major title has just eluded him.
Anyway, that was my little journey of discovery today. Just started with a simple question and ended up quite surprised by the answer. Makes you appreciate those guys who have won majors even more. It’s a tough mountain to climb.
