Rickie Fowler returns to top 50 in the world rankings after 2 years

Rickie Fowler has not had a spectacular run over the last couple of years but that may be changing. Following a pretty solid effort at the Wells Fargo Championship, Fowler has re-entered the OWGR top 50.

🚨After 2+ calendar years of struggle, Rickie Fowler has officially moved back into the Top 50 in the world rankings as of this morning following a T14 finish at Wells Fargo. (Via @RickieLegion) 👀 https://t.co/XJ4rDFnY1w

After more than two years outside the prestigious ranking level, Fowler has shot back into relevancy. He finished T14 at Quail Hollow this weekend and moved up to world number 50, barely cracking the list. Still, he was 103 at the end of last season, so it's clear that his play is improving.

Coming into the Wells Fargo Championship, Fowler was at risk of losing his PGA Tour membership and he had just missed out on qualifying for the Masters in 2023.

Prior to the competition, he said said according to Yahoo! Sports:

“It was a bummer. I ended up watching a decent amount, as I think everyone does … But that was some motivation to be back. We were close, but I put myself in a little bit too big of a hole to get back there.”

The golfer knows he needs to play better and also admitted that he's been working towards that:

“I need to try harder this year. I've been working my a** off and would have liked to have been in this position the last few years and not necessarily gone through any of those slumps or whatever you want to call it. But definitely nice to be in a good position moving forward and with the changes [the Tour has made].”

Ultimately, it led to a T14 and -8 showing at Wells Fargo and a return to the OWGR top 50. Rickie Fowler's fortunes, after so long, might finally be turning around.

What a top 50 placement means for Rickie Fowler

If he can remain in the top 60 in the world rankings two weeks before the start of the U.S. Open, Fowler will be able to join that major tournament. If he stays in the top 50 through the week of May 22, he can play in the British Open.

He's currently slated to participate in the PGA Championship coming up. He is 34th on their points list so he qualifies easily as the top 70 make it in.

In September of 2022, Rickie Fowler dropped to the lowest rank he has ever been at world number 185. Since then, he has slowly but surely climbed back into relevance. In January of this year, he move into the top 100 after a year of absence with his T11 finish at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Eight of his last nine appearances have resulted in a top 20 finish, so he's on the comeback trail.

Fowler is one of the most popular athletes in the world of golf, but he's not one of the best. He hasn't been able to consistently put together performances to honor his dedicated fans.

However, that may be changing. Based on his run of success, albeit without a win, the five-time winner might be playing up to his reputation finally.