AUGUSTA, Ga. — Rickie Fowler didn't figure to be high up the leaderboard after the first round of the Masters after posting a pair of double bogeys through his first 10 holes of play at Augusta National.
Fowler was fortunate to be at even-par after taking a double-bogey at the par-4 first hole and then again at the par-4 10th. Then he got hot on the back nine with a birdie at the difficult par-4 11th and an eagle at the
par-5 15th. A final birdie at the tough par-4 17th lifted him to a 4-under par 68 for the day, leaving him just two shots off the lead going into today's second round.
"I'm usually pretty good with the bounce backs," Fowler said, adding, "I definitely challenged my short game and got a lot out of that."
Fowler, who is seeking his first major championship, stayed in his round by posting birdies after each of his double bogeys. He made five birdies on the day along with the eagle at the 15th.
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The key hole was probably the 11th where Fowler used a 5-iron from 215 yards out to land the ball about 15 feet from the cup. He made the putt for birdie to jump-start his back nine. He played the final eight holes in 4-under par.
"[No.11] was probably one of my better birdies on the day," Fowler said. "I hit a good drive, a great shot and a good putt; just kind of happened at the right time. It was a nice turnaround after making a double and making birdie to calm myself down."
Fowler played with a balky back much of last year, but said he feels good this week.
"The swing is feeling good," he said. "I made a couple of swirly swings, but it's nice to play with less pain than last year. That was not a fun eight months from June on. [I'm] excited about where my game is and where I was coming in this week and definitely makes me feel comfortable and confident coming in here."
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