Sunday’s final round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic got underway much earlier than scheduled. There was inclement weather expected, so tee times were moved up more than four hours.
Justin Thomas gets passive aggressive with PGA Tour, fired up for ‘brother’ Rickie Fowler’s win
Justin Thomas was as displeased about the lack of TV coverage for the Rocket Mortgage Classic, but put it aside for Rickie Fowler’s sake.
Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
As Rickie Fowler, along with fellow leaders Adam Hadwin and Collin Morikawa played an exciting final round, none of it aired live on television.
CBS decided to allow for it be streamed online for free. ESPN+ allowed streaming of specific groups, none of which were the leaders. Meanwhile, infomercials aired on tv.
Rickie Fowler, a fan favorite who was carrying the weight of a four-year drought on his shoulders, entered the day in the lead. He had fans support behind him, but he also is known to be liked by nearly everyone on tour. That includes one of his closest friends, Justin Thomas.
After Fowler snapped his four-plus year drought via playoff, Thomas took to Twitter.
“I can’t get over I actually had to watch the end of that golf streamed on my phone but dammit I’m sure glad I did!!!!! So pumped for Rickie Fowler right now. Lfg brother!!!!”
Thomas’ sentiment can easily be understood. But with the looming 4th of July holiday set to be observed Monday, the last thing the PGA Tour wanted to do was to have this tournament spill over.
So, moving up the tee times was the right decision. The question remains, did CBS not have the flexibility to shift television coverage instead of airing vacuum infomercials?
Nevertheless, Fowler showed some stones on this Sunday. He carded a bogey-free 68 to reach that playoff. That includes a must-make birdie on 18 chalk full of pressure.
Considering how well Fowler has been playing this year, there can be no denying Rickie is back.
