LOS ANGELES—Rickie Fowler finished off a round that was entertaining even by Hollywood standards, and then walked off the 18th green Friday in the U.S. Open with the lead, and with the calm of someone who has been in this position before.
Just not recently.
“It’s been a while since I’ve felt this good in a tournament, let alone a major,” said Fowler, winless since February 2019 in the Phoenix Open. “It’s going to be a challenge, but I’m definitely looking forward to it.”
And there was nothing calm about his day at Los Angeles Country Club. Fowler made only four pars in his round of 2–under 68. He has 18 birdies through 36 holes, an astounding rate for a U.S. Open, and he needed them all for his first 36-hole lead in a major….