IS RICKIE FOWLER DONE? // Plus More From Around the World of Golf

What a week it was for Daniel Berger, finishing 7 under on Sunday with two eagles to take the win at Pebble Beach. Berger moved up to 10th place in the FedEx Cup standings, just behind Bryson Dechambeau, but Patrick Cantlay is the new leader in the standings after a T3 finish this weekend.

I’d be crazy not to mention the tournament that Jordan Spieth had. He had the 54-hole lead by two strokes going into Sunday, but once again failed to finish. He did move up to number 64 in the FedEx Cup standings, but I’m not willing to say Spieth is all the way back. He still needs to find a way to find fairways, as he hit just 41% of them at the Waste Management and then a slight improvement to 58% this week at Pebble Beach. If he can build on the past two weeks and finish well at a tough course with narrow fairways like Riviera, I’ll be more convinced.

On that note, here are the top storylines I’m following this week at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club:

Is Rickie Fowler Washed Up?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by R I C K I E (@rickiefowler)

Boy oh boy, Rickie Fowler has had a tough go of it this season. He’s been cut in three of the five events he’s played since the Master’s, and his OWGR has gone all the way down to 66. For reference, that means that Chez Reavie, yes Chez Reavie, has surpassed him. His putting has been dreadful, and he’s just not the Rickie Fowler that everyone in the golf world fell in love with rooting for. On the Pin High Podcast, we’re notably great at jinxing guys that are playing bad into going on hot streaks, so I hope I’m doing that this week, but it’ll be another tough challenge for Rickie this week at Riviera if he plays anything like the past few months.

Are Francesco Molinari’s Master’s Woes a Thing of The Past?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Francesco Molinari (@chiccogolf)

I like to joke that Francesco Molinari’s golf game was murdered the day that Tiger Woods won the Master’s and he put it on the water on 12 and fell apart. After that, the Open Champion went into a deep slump and we wondered if he would ever find his groove again. He’s finished in the top 10 in two of his last three events, so it’ll be interesting to see what he can do with an absolutely STACKED field this week in California. He is a member at Riviera Country Club afterall,

Will Range Finders at the PGA Championship Really Speed Up Play?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The news that range finders will be allowed at this year’s PGA Championship at Kiawah Island came out last week, and there has been time for some of the caddies on TOUR to digest the ruling. From what I’ve gathered, most caddies don’t think that they will speed up play at all because, according to Rickie Fowler’s caddie Joe Skovron, “If I shot a number, I would check it three times and still have to go to my yardage book and get a front or cover number.” In my opinion, I think it’s a real head scratching move to use a major championship as the guinea pig for the use of range finders on TOUR. Why not test it out at a tournament like the Zurich? Or a tournament that has the same smaller magnitude. All I know is that it’s going to be pretty funny to see Bryson and his caddy shooting distances to every single object in sight.

It’s a star studded field this week at the Genesis Invitational, and I’m excited to see who comes out on top. I’d be shocked if it’s not a big name leaderboard come Sunday afternoon, so get ready for some awesome golf.

Cover Image via Instagram