FILE PHOTO: Jun 15, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Rickie Fowler hits a tee shot on the 8th hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Los Angeles Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rickie Fowler fell off the radar after a difficult stretch but the longtime fan favourite stormed back to relevance in a major way with a record-setting start to the U.S. Open on Thursday.
Fowler fired an eight-under-par 62 at Los Angeles Country Club that marked the lowest round in U.S. Open history and equalled the lowest major round of all time set by Branden Grace in the third round of the 2017 British Open at Royal Birkdale.
Fowler, over four years after the most recent of his five PGA Tour wins, also became the first player to record 10 birdies in a single round at a U.S. Open, a tournament widely considered the toughest test in golf.
"I knew there was birdies to be made out here, but you have to drive it well and get the ball in position first," said Fowler, whose 62 was matched shortly after by world number six Xander Schauffele.
The performance was reminiscent of the form Fowler displayed in 2015 when, as a rising young star, he secured the biggest win of his career at The Players Championship and finished in the top five of all four majors that year.
Fowler, however, was never able to build off those results and endured years of struggles and swing changes but the 34-year-old American finally appears to be back on the upswing.
It has been a long road back for Fowler, a former top-10 golfer who last September dropped to a career-low 185th in the rankings but climbed back with a steady ascent that secured him a spot in this week's U.S. Open.
"It's definitely been long and tough. A lot longer being in that situation than you'd ever want to," Fowler said of his journey.
"But it makes it so worth it having gone through that and being back where we are now."
While surprising, the opening round by Fowler, who moved back into the top-50 in the world ranking in May, did not come out of nowhere as he arrived at the year's third major on the heels of two top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour.
Making his first U.S. Open start since 2020, Fowler went out early at Los Angeles Country Club where four of his 10 birdies came during a sizzling four-hole stretch around the turn.
"This week off to a good start, but there's still plenty of golf to be played," said Fowler, whose best U.S. Open result came in 2014 when he finished joint runner-up.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Ed Osmond)
