Rickie Fowler hoping Abu Dhabi win can provide major momentum

Joy Chakravarty 21:53 24/01/2016
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  • Fowler is known as a slow starter on Tour.

    Each of Fowler’s previous five professional wins had come post Masters, the earliest being the Players Championship he won last year on the PGA Tour.

    But the Californian will now be able to shut his critics up after a spectacular performance in Abu Dhabi, where he beat a field that included world No1 Jordan Spieth, No3 Rory McIlroy and No6 Henrik Stenson.

    “Well, it’s a great way to start. It’s nice to have the game where it’s at right now going into the season, instead of trying to work on things and trying to find stuff,” said Fowler who hoped to take the momentum of this win into 2016’s majors.

    “Right now, I can go and fine tune and really build ultimately for Augusta.

    “I’m excited. There’s definitely some fine-tuning that we can do and we can always get better. I know all the players out here are always trying to get better, and that’s the goal moving forward, to be ready for Augusta.”

    Fowler has had three big wins across the globe since winning the Players, which he called the turning point of his career.

    “From the Players on, just being in contention on Sundays, against the best players in the world and really believing and having the confidence that, hey, if I go hit the shots, I’m winning, no questions,” added Fowler who will become the world No4 when the rankings come out post tournament.

    “The Players was a big step in the right direction for that, and that gave me the confidence for Scotland, winning the Scottish Open there, and then going up against Henrik (Stenson) and winning Deutsche Bank.

    “It’s nice to have that added confidence now, really having the belief and knowing that come Sunday when I’m in the mix, I know I can go get it done.”

    Fowler said he relished the thought of moving up the world ranking, and also beating players like Spieth and McIlroy.

    “It’s the first time I’ve been inside the top-five. This is the best I’ve been ranked. It’s definitely nice to be up there. The ultimate goal this year is to go win a major and this is a step in the right direction for sure,” he said.

    “To win with Spieth and Rory in the field, it’s awesome. I mean, I want to be playing against the best players in the world and beating the best players in the world. I am looking forward to going to battle with those guys all year long and for the rest of our careers.”

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