Honda Classic 2017: Rickie Fowler enjoys playing with cushion, wins tournament

With just four wins in his past 179 PGA Tour starts, the pressure was building on one of the Tour’s most talented players to start adding trophies to his relatively bare cabinet.

Fowler didn’t have a great front nine, dropping two shots including a double bogey at the sixth hole, but he stood up to the test and played very well on the back nine.

In his mind, with the lead dwindling, Fowler said: “I knew what I needed to do”.

If he continues to excel on the greens over the next two days, he will be celebrating his first career win on the PGA Tour.

Morgan Hoffman produced a bogey-free back nine to grab a share of second alongside Woodland, who sent his approach in to the hazard on his way to a final-hole blemish.

Martin Laird, who skipped the Honda Classic, remains in 110th spot, followed by Paul Lawrie (249th), Marc Warren (253rd), Richie Ramsay (285th), Stephen Gallacher (311th) and David Drysdale (315th).

Fowler and Walker Cup captain Buddy Marucci have won the one-day event three times, but getting his name on the locker room wall was just part of the experience for the Honda Classic champion.

Waring was playing Royal Johannesburg and Kensington’s par-71 West Course after opening with a 6-under 66 on the East Course, the site of the final two rounds. He was within a shot of Fowler after his birdie on No. 13 that moved him to 10-under, but that would be as close as he would get.

Fowler moved all the way back to four shots up carving a clutch 5-iron from 183 yards to 3 feet to set up birdie at the 16th. He was then able to relax and he played solidly over the closing holes to rack up his fourth PGA Tour title.

Palmer made seven birdies on another day of ideal scoring and reached 9-under 131.

“It was just one of those shots you want to get within three feet or so”, two-time Major victor Kaymer told Golf Channel.

Can you win in a four-shot rout with your D-game? “It helps make golf less aggravating at times”. “When you do have that cushion, it gives you the opportunity to accept mistakes”. That’s a reference to Henrik Stenson doing the same thing at Doral in 2009.

Fowler shot his second successive 66 for 132, one shot better than Anirban Lahiri of India (68).

American duo Cody Gribble and Wesley Bryan are the first-round leaders of the Honda Classic in Palm Beach. Fowler was one of six golfers to take a double bogey on No. 6 in the final round.

“I’ll go out there and play the best I can tomorrow, that’s all I can do”, said Hatton, who finished equal fifth in the Open Championship and tied for 10th in the PGA Championship a year ago.

But he bogeyed 17 as Fowler birdied two of his last three.