Why Rickie Fowler is using two 4-irons at Genesis Scottish Open
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Rickie Fowler will play the Genesis Scottish Open with two 4-irons, a creative tweak to buoy his chances this week in Scottish linksland.
Fowler removed his 5-wood from the bag at The Renaissance Club, opting to add a second long iron for increased shot versatility in potential high winds on the Scottish coast. Tuesday’s practice day featured strong winds that gusted 20 to 30 mph – the current forecast doesn’t call for quite as high winds on competition days, but Mother Nature is known to be fickle around these parts.
Fowler will be ready for what’s ahead. His standard bag includes a 4-iron with 23 degrees of loft, in addition to a 5-wood set at 18.5 degrees. In lieu of the 5-wood at The Renaissance Club, he’ll employ a 4-iron with 19 degrees of loft that he described Tuesday as of a game-improvement variety.
“It gives me more options,” Fowler said Tuesday, “for a tighter and stronger flight in the wind.”
Rickie Fowler discusses why he's using two 4-irons at Genesis Scottish Open
It’s a subtle change for Fowler, but it speaks to increased comfort in adverse conditions with long irons rather than fairway metals. Fowler won the event in 2015 when it was played just down the road at Gullane, before the longtime DP World Tour event was co-sanctioned with the PGA TOUR. He finished 12 under that week, one clear of Matt Kuchar and Raphael Jacquelin, leading into that year's Open Championship at St. Andrews where he finished T30. "Winning on a links course in ... Scotland, the home of golf, it is a special week," Fowler said after his 2015 win.
This marks The Renaissance Club’s sixth straight year hosting the Genesis Scottish Open, the third as a co-sanctioned event between the PGA TOUR and DP World Tour. Fowler has finished T47 and T42 in the event’s past two iterations, solid if unspectacular results. He enters the week at No. 96 on the season-long FedExCup standings with just over a month remaining until the FedExCup Playoffs, needing some summertime magic to break into the top 70 after the Wyndham Championship to qualify for the Playoffs.
A savvy equipment shift across the pond might help him get there.