Tuesday 19 May 2015 13:53, UK
Robert Lee reflects on Rickie Fowler's TPC Sawgrass success and gives his predictions for this week's action.
Rickie Fowler's name must have been on the Players Championship trophy, as to play that 17th hole five under through six this week is extremely good going. Even when he made the eagle at the 16th, he was still a long way from birdieing the last two holes which few people do. What was impressive about him was the way he went straight for the flag at 17, before taking the driver and pumping it as far up the 18th fairway as he possibly could.
When all of the Sky Sports Golf team involved in our PGA Tour coverage picked a player or two that they thought were going to have a breakthrough year and win a couple of times, my tip was Fowler. He had a good year last time around and was top five in all of the majors, but still only had one win prior to Sunday. It now looks like my prediction may turn out to come good.
He was given a bit of ammunition by the comments made about him and Ian Poulter being overrated and I think that will have been in his mind somewhere. Maybe that was the bit of impetus he needed, as he hadn't had a great season up until that point. There had been signs that his game was coming back at the WGC Match Play, but to win the Players is as good as it gets in America without winning a major.
If he (McIlroy) has a great week with the putter and plays the way he can from tee to green, he wins tournaments by a huge chunk.
Rory McIlroy had a bit of a luxurious week, playing some nice shots without ever really getting to grips with the front nine. He still finished in the top 10, despite him having a bit of a dry week with the putter, which would be extraordinary for most but not for him because he plays the game so well. As I've said before, if he has a great week with the putter and plays the way he can from tee to green, he wins tournaments by a huge chunk.
McIlroy returns to Quail Hollow this week for the Wells Fargo Championship, where he really carved his name on the wood that is the PGA Tour and made a huge statement with his maiden victory back in 2010. He was very close to the cut-line that week, but then made 17 birdies and an eagle over the weekend before finishing in convincing style at the last.
He hasn't really looked back since, going on to win majors as well as that WGC Match Play earlier this month, so I think he goes in to the summer with a lot of confidence. He'll be expecting another good week, but there will also be a whole bunch of guys desperate to do well.
I'm in Spain this week for Sky Sports Golf's coverage of the Open de Espana. I used to play the old El Prat course but am not overly familiar with the new one, so it's a new tournament for me and one I'm looking forward to.
It'll be well supported, particularly from the Spanish interest like Miguel Angel Jimenez, Alvaro Quiros and Rafa Carbrera-Bello, while Sergio Garcia is obviously the headline name going back to his home country. It'll be a big deal for them and I'm sure Garcia would love to win that after narrowly missing out on the Players - he's certainly playing well enough. It's also a good warm-up for those who didn't go to Mauritius ahead of next week's BMW PGA Championship, which of course is another massive event.
Watch both the Open de Espana and the Wells Fargo Championship live from Thursday May 14 on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf.
