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.