Rickie Fowler was pleased with his opening round 65 but is focusing on bigger things later in the week as he chases his first Major at the US Open.
‘Yeah, it was nice,’ said Fowler.
‘You don’t get many rounds at the U.S. Open that are stress-free. Just did a good job, knew I needed to drive it well, and from there just able to manage hitting and continuing to swing well and hitting good shots and rolling a couple in.
‘So, simple day when you look back on it, and how we kind of pieced our way around the golf course. Kind of, yeah, a lot easier said than done.
‘I’ve been swinging well all through the start of the week. It was nice getting off to a quick start, birdieing 11, and kind of getting a bonus on 12 after hitting it in the first cut off the tee.
‘Then from there, I was just taking advantage of the par 5s. So really just had to add a couple more, and that was the round.’
His bogey-free 65 is the joint-lowest opening round in relation to par in the history of the event but Fowler knows there is a far greater prize in store later in the week.
‘Yeah, it’s cool, but it’s just the first round. So yeah, it is always cool to be part of some sort of history in golf. But I’d rather be remembered for something that’s done on Sunday.’
The world number nine is now reaping the benefits after an extended time near the top of the rankings and a number of years competing against the best in the world.
‘Yeah, I mean, especially with the way I started this year. I feel like I’m better throughout my whole game. I’ve been able to tighten things up. I used to not be a very good bunker player, and now I feel like I have a lot of confidence, and stats show I’m one of the best. That’s definitely been something that’s been nice to have on days where you’re not exactly on and just understanding and freeing yourself up because you know if you might miss something, okay, I’ll just get it up-and-down.
‘I’ve been driving it well. Driving stats have gone up. Just hitting the fairways has made it a little easier and that’s definitely something that makes a difference out here.’
With one win under his belt this season, Fowler believes he could feature down the stretch on Sunday and doesn’t need too much more to do so after going low on Thursday.
‘I’ll just take the cumulative of that for three days and I’ll wait and go over there and see what that does. I don’t need a whole lot more after putting 7 up today.’
Fowler is now what many consider the ‘best player without a Major’ but the first round leader isn’t taking it negatively.
‘I take it as a compliment. There are a lot of really good players out here that haven’t won a major. So it would be nice to get rid of that at some point. I’m not saying that this is the week or isn’t the week. But I like the way this golf course suits me, and we’re off to a good start. There’s definitely a lot of golf to be played.’
Photo: PGA Tour
