The day didn’t end like Rickie Fowler had hoped, but he maintained a positive outlook after what he described as a “decent” start.
Fowler’s name was consistently near the top of the leaderboard throughout Thursday’s first round of the Masters Tournament. An errant tee shot on No. 18 resulted in a double bogey that pushed him to 1-over-par 73 and off the first page.
“I got off to a solid start,” Fowler said. “It wasn’t playing easy. You’re not going to try to squeeze much out of the round today. Anything under par today was good, and even par is still a good score and 1-over’s not terrible.”
Fowler birdied two of the first three holes and mixed in birdies on Nos. 9 and 13. He became one of the many victims of a tough second nine by shooting 3-over-par 39.
Despite the finish, he likes his chances in windy conditions. He said he embraces the wind because it requires imagination on the course.
“You have to use your imagination and creativity and visualize and see what the wind’s going to do if you hit a certain shot,” he said. “And then just being able to execute and actually hit the shot that you’re trying to, to get it to fly the proper yardage and do exactly what you want it to do in the air.”