Rickie Fowler typically doesn’t let fans bother him on the course. He loves his followers, and they usually respect him while he plays.
The Players: Rickie Fowler’s stunning altercation with a fan goes viral
Rickie Fowler snapped at a fan at The Players after the latter had been warned about his phone already.
Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images
Unfortunately, during the third round of The Players Championship, one fan appeared to get under his skin.
On the TPC Sawgrass 523-yard par-5 16th, PGA Tour Live cameras caught the entire interaction.
“Sir, just hold the camera for me, please,” Fowler’s caddie, Ricky Romano, said as his player addressed his ball. “We need all the phones on silent.”
Caddies tend to speak up and ask fans to be quiet. These warnings are usually enough to get people to listen, but not always.
The fan did not listen on this occasion.
Fowler hit his tee shot, and on his follow-through, snapped at the fan.
“You,” Fowler said as he pointed to the right of the tee box. The 35-year-old took a few steps toward the crowd before stopping. Romano also headed toward the fans.
PGA Tour Live cameras picked up the dialect.
“Buddy, what are you doing,” someone said.
“Come on, I just said something,” Romano appears to say.
“Who was it?” a second person asked.
A third bystander didn’t shy away: “Right there. After we just told him not to.”
Fowler is normally so chill on the course. His reaction to this person raised some eyebrows and caught the attention of social media. The video currently has north of 137,000 views.
“Wow, I’ve never seen that out of Rickie. Totally understand it, though,” analyst Matt Every said on the broadcast.
The tee shot ultimately finished in the fairway, and the PGA Tour shot tracer tracked it going 288 yards. However, Fowler remained irritated, and it stayed with him for the rest of the hole.
His next two shots went into the water and settled for a double bogey.
It’s usually respectful to have phones and other technology on silent at golf tournaments. Those who attend these events know to abide by the rules. There are still some rebels who like to push the limits.
As a fan favorite, Fowler doesn’t let things bother him to this magnitude, but everyone has their limits. The six-time PGA Tour winner found that line on Saturday.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
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