The Open Championship is just around the corner, but we still have a few more PGA Tour events on the horizon before the third major of the year tees off from across the Atlantic.
This week, Rickie Fowler leads the field as the overall favorite with a price of +750 to win the 2017 Quicken Loans National. Below are three reasons why Fowler is indeed deserving of such odds as he takes another crack at the TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm’s course in Maryland.
Fowler came very close to winning the Quicken Loans National already, having finished as the runner-up of the tournament back in 2015.
The Oklahoma State product’s had a pretty rough 2016 season, but he appears to have regained his form this 2017 with six top-six finishes under his belt. Among those finishes was a win at the Honda Classic in February and a runner-up finish at The Memorial earlier this month. And in his last outing, Fowler secured a sweet T5 finish at the US Open for his sixth-career top-five finish at a major.
Statistically Consistent Campaign
Not all of Fowler’s results this season have actually been spectacular, as he’s been cut three times out of 13 tournaments along with an underwhelming T60 finish from THE PLAYERS Championship.
Then again, Fowler’s numbers for the entire season in general paint a different picture. He’s currently tops on the Tour with his 69.32 scoring average and fourth when it comes to birdie average (4.45). Most of the 28-year-old’s prowess has been displayed right from the get-go at that, as his 69.08 scoring average in the first round of tournaments leads all golfers as well. If Fowler starts off scorching hot this week at Avenel, chances are high that he’ll hang onto an early lead en route to a victory on the final day of play.
A Relatively Thin Field
If Fowler’s stats of late aren’t enough to sway your opinion, perhaps the outlook on the field of participants in Avenel will do the trick. The Former Rookie of the Year is this week’s only top 10 player from the Official World Golf Rankings, and with Justin Thomas (12th; +1,100) and Patrick Reed (16th; +1,400) being the only golfers situated inside the top 20.
Fowler has also taken a two-week break from action on the PGA Tour’s main draw since tying for fifth at the US Open in Erin Hills, so he’ll definitely be in great shape heading into Maryland this week.
