Rickie Fowler’s in contention at the Masters after 2 years in major wilderness

Rickie Fowler has given it a good run at the Masters before. He’s primed to give it a good run again this year. Fowler birdied Augusta National’s 13th hole on Friday to tie for the tournament lead at 4-under as the second round nears its end.

In 2016, the now-28-year-old fell from fifth to 11th in the World Golf Ranking. He didn’t win a tournament after January. He didn’t compete near the top of the leaderboard in any of the four majors, missing the cut in two of them, including the Masters. The year before that, the Masters was the only major where he played well, finishing 12th. It’s been a long time since he finished top-five in all four of them in 2014.

Fowler’s one of the world’s great young golfers, and he’ll be on the major scene for a long while to come. But when Fowler rose from the 50s to the 10th-ranked player in the world in 2014, he was supposed to win one of these things sooner than later. It hasn’t worked out that way, but Fowler’s effort on Thursday is highly encouraging.

Last year at Augusta, Fowler ejected quickly. He shot a first-round 80, one of the worst outings of his professional career. He was gone from contention almost immediately. The situation wasn’t much different at the US Open at Oakmont a few months later, where he missed the cut by a full five strokes. Fowler wasn’t really in the ballgame.

Now, Fowler heads into the weekend with a real shot to win. Heavy wind at Augusta on Thursday and Friday made it a difficult place to accumulate birdies, but Fowler racked up enough of them to stick near the top of the leaderboard. He was sharp for two days, and he’d be in even better shape if not for a double-bogey on what played as a tricky 18th hole on Thursday.

Fowler should feel confident. He’s in the thick of the race, and the players surrounding him are neither much more experienced nor more talented than him. His No. 8 World Golf Ranking is the highest of any of the players clustered around him atop the leaderboard. He’ll likely be a top-three betting favorite going forward.

Fowler has a long way to go, of course, but his game’s in a good place. His last five starts have featured three top-fives, including a Honda Classic win in February. He tied for third at last week’s Shell Houston Open, a sort of Masters warmup, and his first two days at Augusta hardly could have gone better so far. Let’s see where he takes it now.