Rickie Fowler drives off the fourth tee during the final round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic on Sunday in Detroit. Carlos Osorio/Associated Press
DETROIT — Rickie Fowler made a 12-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, outlasting Collin Morikawa and Adam Hadwin two weeks after squandering a chance to win his first major at the U.S. Open.
The 34-year-old Fowler got his first PGA Tour victory since winning the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open. He had the 54-hole lead at last month’s U.S. Open and in one tournament in each of the previous two years.
After getting knocked down on the leaderboard at Detroit Golf Club on Sunday, Fowler responded on his 72nd hole of the tournament with an approach from 145 feet that left him with a 3-foot birdie put to pull into a three-way tie with Morikawa and Hadwin at 24 under.
Fowler hit an errant tee shot way right in the playoff and after a drop, his approach from 184 landed 11 feet from the cup.
Morikawa, meanwhile, was just inches long on his approach and instead of having the ball spin back to the hole, it bounced into the rough and his chip was short of the cup.
Hadwin had the first chance to make a birdie in the playoff and his 22-foot putt curled just past the hole.
Then, Fowler stepped up with a desperately needed clutch putt to win.
Morikawa shot an 8-under 64, faring better than Hadwin (67) and Fowler (68) in the final round.
While Fowler faltered, going 10 straight holes settling for pars on a relatively easy course, Morikawa had four birdies on both the front and back nine. Morikawa made a 10-foot putt at No. 12, his fourth birdie in a six-hole stretch that put him within a shot of Fowler, and his nine-footer for birdie at No. 14 pulled him into a tie with Fowler at 23 under.
Monday qualifier Peter Kuest (65), Lucas Glover (65) and Taylor Moore (67) were tied for fourth at 21 under. Kuest, who started the week ranked 789th in the world, did well enough to earn a spot in this week’s John Deere Classic in Illinois.
Play was suspended Saturday for 1 hour, 42 minutes because of lightning and the schedule for the final round was adjusted due to inclement weather in the forecast.
The leaders teed off Sunday morning about 5 hours before the original schedule with threesomes starting on both the front and back nine.
EUROPEAN TOUR: A 40-foot eagle putt sparked a stunning finish from New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier as he won the British Masters in Sutton Coldfield, England, and secured his place in the British Open.
Hillier’s first European tour title was delivered in spectacular fashion when he carded a 6-under 66 in the final round at The Belfry. His winning total of 10 under par saw him finish two shots ahead of England’s Oliver Wilson and American Gunner Wiebe.
“I’m gobsmacked. I think it’s going to take me a while to process to be honest,” Hillier said after starting three shots off a six-way tie for the lead. ““Early on in the day I was not feeling it at all. I was a little bit uncomfortable with the driver, didn’t have many chances but obviously knew there were some chances coming in.
“I didn’t think I would take them that well, but obviously pretty ecstatic.”
As well as his eagle on the par-5 15th, Hillier made birdie from a fairway bunker on the 16th and had another eagle with a 6-foot putt on the par-5 17th.
CHAMPIONS TOUR: Bernhard Langer won the U.S. Senior Open in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, at SentryWorld to break the PGA Tour Champions’ career victory record.
Pushing his record as the oldest winner on the 50-and-over tour to 65 years, 10 months, 5 days, the German star broke a tie with Hale Irwin for the victory mark with No. 46.
Seven strokes ahead on the back nine, Langer bogeyed the final three holes for 1-under 70 and a two-stroke victory over home-state favorite Steve Stricker on the tree-lined course with thick rough.
Langer finished at 7-under 277, with only eight players breaking par for the week. He shattered the tournament age record set by Allen Doyle in 2006 at SentryWorld at 57 years, 11 months, 14 days.
Also the 2010 U.S. Senior Open winner at Sahalee outside Seattle, Langer extended his record for senior major victories to 12. He won the Chubb Classic in Florida in February to tie Irwin.
LIV: Talor Gooch won his third LIV Golf League title of the year when he made a curling 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole at Valderrama in Sotogrande, Spain, for a 4-under 67 and a one-shot victory over Bryson DeChambeau.
Gooch won $4 million for the victory in Spain. Along with victories in Australia and Singapore, the former Oklahoma State player now has earned $13,376,583 in eight LIV events this year.
He also becomes the first player with three victories in the Saudi-funded rival league. Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson have two wins apiece.
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