Rickie Fowler's Official World Golf Ranking currently sits solidly within the top 40, marking a remarkable comeback for one of golf's most popular figures. This article will not only give you the specifics of his current standing but also take you through the incredible journey of his ranking over the years, explaining the highs, the lows, and the powerful lessons every golfer can learn from his story.
Rickie Fowler's World Ranking: A Story of Peaks and Valleys
Few golfers have captured the public's imagination quite like Rickie Fowler. From his vibrant orange outfits to his high-flying, athletic swing, he brought a new energy to the sport. His journey through the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) tells a compelling story of a meteoric rise, a challenging slump, and a truly inspiring resurgence.
To find his exact up-to-the-minute ranking, you can always visit the official OWGR website, as the list updates every Monday. However, as of early 2024, Fowler has cemented his place back among the game's elite, a testament to the hard work he put in to reclaim his form.
Understanding the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR)
Before we trace Rickie’s path, it’s helpful to understand what the ranking actually represents. It’s not just a simple leaderboard, it’s a sophisticated system that measures a player’s performance over a two-year rolling period.
- Strength of Field Matters: Winning a major like The Masters awards a player 100 points. Winning a standard PGA Tour event might award between 40 and 60 points, depending on who else is in the field. The stronger the competition, the more points are on the line.
- It’s a Rolling System: A player's total ranking is their average points over the events they’ve played in the last two years (a minimum divisor of 40 events is used).
- Recent Performance is Weighted More: The points you earn don't last forever. For the first 13 weeks, they are worth 100% of their value. After that, they begin to lose a small fraction of their value each week for the remaining 91 weeks of the two-year period. This ensures the ranking reflects a player’s current form, not ancient history.
Ultimately, the OWGR is the key that unlocks the door to a professional's schedule. A high ranking grants players access to major championships, World Golf Championships (WGCs), and other premier, limited-field events.
The Career Arc: Tracing Rickie's Ranking Journey
Rickie Fowler's career can be neatly viewed in three acts: the exciting climb, the frustrating fall, and the powerful comeback. Each phase offers powerful insights for golfers of all levels.
Phase 1: The Meteoric Rise (2009-2016)
Rickie Fowler turned pro in 2009 and immediately looked the part. He was a product of the modern era: an athlete who swung the club with speed and freedom. His style was captivating, and his results quickly followed.
Working with legendary coach Butch Harmon, Fowler's swing was built around a powerful body rotation. Echoing the core principles we teach golfers, his action was a "rounded action... mainly powered from your body." He wasn’t stiff or mechanical, he turned his torso, his hips, and his shoulders to generate power, allowing his arms and the club to move around his body in a natural circle. This efficient movement produced the three things every golfer craves: power, accuracy, and consistency.
The results of this fantastic swing propelled him up the rankings:
- Early 2012: Cracked the top 25 for the first time after his maiden PGA Tour victory at the Wells Fargo Championship.
- Amazing 2014: A historically great year in the majors. Fowler finished in the top 5 in all four major championships (T5 at The Masters, T2 at the U.S. Open, T2 at The Open Championship, T3 at the PGA Championship). This stunning consistency sent him into the top 10 in the world.
- Major Player in 2015: His signature win at The Players Championship, with a wild finish where he played the last six holes in 6-under par, solidified his status as a big-time player.
- Career Peak: In early 2016, following a win at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, Rickie Fowler reached his career-high world ranking of No. 4.
At his peak, Rickie was the total package. His driving was a weapon, his iron play was sharp, and his putting was clutch. He was a perfect example of a golfer who trusted his fundamentals (a consistent setup and a powerful body turn) to perform under pressure.
Phase 2: The Difficult Slump (2019-2022)
After several more solid years, things started to go sideways. From a high of 6th in the world in mid-2018, his ranking began a long, slow slide. By the end of 2021, he had fallen outside the top 100, and by mid-2022, he was down to a shocking 185th in the world.
So, what happened? From a coaching perspective, the signs pointed to a player searching for answers and, in the process, losing the very thing that made him great.
- Swing Changes: Fowler moved on from Butch Harmon and began working with a new coach, trying to gain more distance and refine his action. However, these changes altered his natural, rotational movement. He started to look less fluid, and that classic, around-the-body swing became more disconnected. Many amateurs can relate to this - they try to incorporate a new swing thought from a video or magazine tip, and it just doesn't fit with their natural motion, leading to confusion and inconsistency.
- Loss of Fundamentals: In trying so hard to improve, some of the basics began to slip. His setup alignment was occasionally off, and the club path wasn't as consistently on plane. As any golf coach will tell you, the setup can be "the steering wheel of your golf shots." If it’s even slightly off, you have to make compensations during the swing to hit the ball straight, which is an incredibly difficult thing to do time after time.
- Confidence Drain: With inconsistent results came a loss of confidence. Golf is a game played between the ears. When you stand over a shot full of uncertainty instead of commitment, your body tenses up, the swing gets tentative, and the results are predictable.
During this period, Fowler missed major championships he had been a fixture in for a decade. It was tough for his fans to watch, and a powerful reminder that even the best players in the world are not machines.
Phase 3: The Incredible Resurgence (2022-Present)
In mid-2022, facing a career crossroads, Rickie made a big decision: he went back to what worked. He re-hired Butch Harmon and made a commitment to rediscover his old swing and, more importantly, his old feel.
The goal wasn't to reinvent the wheel. It was to get back to the basics that made him a world-beater. They focused on:
- The Setup: Getting his body and club in the right position before the swing even started. Leaning over from the hips, pushing the bottom out, and letting the arms hang naturally - creating that athletic posture ready for a turn.
- The Backswing: Making his backswing simple again. It was about one thing: rotation. Turning the shoulders and hips away from the ball to create width and power, staying within that "cylinder" we talk about to avoid swaying off the ball.
- The Downswing: Unwinding all the power he stored in the backswing. The first move was a slight shift to the left to promote a solid ball-then-turf strike, followed by a powerful unraveling of the body. He let his body be the engine again.
The changes weren’t overnight, but the results slowly started to appear. Top-20s became top-10s. By mid-2023, he looked like the Rickie Fowler of old. Then came the magical moment at the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic. After a long-fought battle, he sank a birdie putt on the first playoff hole to win for the first time in over four years. The roar from the crowd was immense, a celebration not just of a victory, but of a comeback completed.
That win shot him from 53rd back into the top 30 in the world, securing his place in all the major championships and signalling that Rickie Fowler was well and truly back.
Final Thoughts
Rickie Fowler's world ranking is more than just a number, it’s a reflection of his dedication, his struggles, and his incredible resilience. His journey shows us that performance in golf is never a straight line, but with a return to solid fundamentals and unwavering belief, it’s always possible to find your way back.
Seeing Rickie struggle with thorny lies or second-guess his strategy on a tough hole is a feeling all golfers can relate to. Navigating those moments on your own is what makes the game challenging, which is why we built Caddie AI.You can get instant, expert advice on any shot you're facing - just snap a photo of a tricky lie in the rough and get a real strategy for how to play it. Instead of guessing, you can get a smart plan for any hole, making you feel more prepared and confident over every single shot.