RBC HERITAGE

April 13, 2023

Rickie Fowler

Harbour Town Golf Links

Quick Quotes

Q. How would you characterize the round today?

RICKIE FOWLER: Pretty solid. Putted well. That was something nice to lean on and know that I just have to get it up there and give myself looks.

Started off the day on time with a nice par putt. It's better to start that way than missing one obviously. So that was nice. Yeah, I felt pretty comfortable out there. A couple swings that cost me.

I hit a poor approach on 18, my 9th hole, but other than that, I felt it was a good job of managing and hitting the spots because that's a big thing around this place. It's not how far you hit it or anything like that, it's just being in the right position.

Q. Did you do any work last week on the off week?

RICKIE FOWLER: Not much. I took Monday, Tuesday off. Got a lot of good workouts in with my trainer Derek at home and played a few rounds, but not a bunch of practice.

I felt pretty good about where things were at, and it was more just playing and hitting shots.

Q. What does the golf course dictate to you in terms of clubs off the tee? Were you hitting driver a lot today?

RICKIE FOWLER: Not a whole lot. I hit a handful of 3-woods. Yeah, I mean, you can kind of hit whatever. If you're driving it well, you can push it up there on some holes to get shorter clubs in your hand.

But at the end of the day, it's more about being in the short grass and being able to control the ball, especially it was a little windy and gusty at times, and these greens are -- they're pretty firm and fast. So you need to be playing from the fairway to most hole locations to have a chance.

Yeah, it's tricky. It can -- you can play good and shoot a few under, but you can also be a little off, and it will pick you apart and you're going to shoot a few over par.

Q. How does this course play differently in the wind compared to other courses?

RICKIE FOWLER: It's tricky. Just you're in the trees for the most part other than a couple holes. So you're not able to feel a whole lot of what's going on wind-wise. So there's a lot of trusting where you believe it's at, and depending on its trajectory and hitting the ball solid has a big impact. You do that versus mis-hitting shots, the wind is going to have a bigger impact.

Yes, it's tricky because it does swirl around a little bit. It would be a lot easier if there were no trees and it was just wide open. You would know exactly what the wind's doing. But being down in the trees, you don't feel a whole lot. So it's more about imagine what it's going to do to it and try to trust that.

Q. There's been a lot of talk about the popularity of the walk and talks that CBS has done on the weekends. Do you like that idea? Is that something you're open to doing? You may have already done one.

RICKIE FOWLER: I did one at Bay Hill.

Q. That's right.

RICKIE FOWLER: No, not opposed to it. They also give you an out as far as if it ends up not being a good time. So ultimately, the player has the final say. If you're coming off of a bad stretch or maybe in the mix and, hey, this just isn't a good time, they do give you that out.

So I feel like it's -- you know, when the right questions are asked and it's getting people a little more of an inside look of either what we're thinking or going through or stuff like that, I feel like it's definitely a benefit to the viewers. It seems like there's been some good feedback to it.

Q. Seems like with a little earbud, less intrusive maybe?

RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, a lot easier than having to put a pack and a wire and stuff like that. It's just like you're talking to someone on the phone.