Rickie Fowler Wins the 2015 Players Championship

Things came down to the wire once again on the PGA Tour. On a day that saw many players making a move for the lead, three players finished tied for 1st place at the end of the final round, each with their own unique story: Sergio Garcia, who's always played excellently at The Players over the years (he finished T5 or better 5 times). Kevin Kisner, the rookie who's never won on Tour and the real underdog. And Rickie Fowler, the player who was voted as one of the most overrated golfer on Tour, having won only once on Tour but finishing runner up in several big tournaments, including finishing T5 or better in all majors in 2014. In the end, it was Fowler who emerged as the victor, for his 2nd and by far his biggest, PGA Tour win.

The trio finished with a final score of 12-under at TPC Sawgrass, but got there in different ways. Rickie posted a score of 67 for his final round, having gone birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie in his last four holes, after a relatively quiet front nine. He posted his number early and had to watch the remainder of the field chase it. Sergio found himself in the playoff after holing an almost "better than most" 44 foot putt on the 17th Island Green. Kevin birdied the last two of three holes also.

In 2014, a new playoff format was introduced at The Players. It was an aggregate format which, in the event of a playoff, players would play holes 16, 17, and 18 again, and the player with the lowest combined score over these three holes would win. In the event of a tie, players would play a sudden death hole.

However, given that the venue was TPC Sawgrass, you couldn't help but get the feeling that if things ended in a tie, the 17th Island Green had to be the place where the winner would be decided, as it was years before. And that's just what happened. At the end of the 3rd hole of the aggregate playoff, Fowler and Kisner were tied at 1-under, while Garcia remained at even par after failing to birdie the 17th Island Green as Kisner and Fowler had. Off to the 17th they went for sudden death, which must've been good news for Fowler, who birdied the Island Green 5 out of 6 times this week (a remarkable stat in its own right).

Both tee shots were excellent, Kisner hit his too about 12 feet, which gave him an excellent chance as he'd been putting exceptionally all week. Fowler, however, stiffed his shot to within four feet. Kisner missed the putt and Fowler tapped in for the win, one which was long overdue and one which silenced his doubters. When asked about his thoughts on being one of the more overrated golfers on Tour after his win, Rickie responded hoping that this win was big enough.

The win is no doubt big for Fowler. While he may have the major exemptions all ready, the World Golf Rankings points as well as the FedEx Cup points are some of the highest given out for a golf tournament and invaluable. His name is also etched in Tour history as the most recent winner of golf's "5th major". And of course his prize of $1.8 million is nice. 

Finally, our remaining pick Dustin Johnson finished off the tournament at 3-over (T69) and Canadian David Hearn finished at 2-under (T42) after a disasterous final round of 78, which included a first nine score of 43.

Next week's stop on Tour is a Quail Hollow Golf Club, for the Wells Fargo Championship. Be sure to check out our picks for it next week.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Rickie Fowler Wins the 2015 Players Championship, in dramatic fashion