Amid PGA Tour Struggles, Rickie Fowler Gave New Dad Justin Thomas a Final Piece of Advice From His Quiver: ’Trial & Error’
Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler now have a lot to talk about. This time, though, the flow will be from the latter, Thomas being in a listening mode. They both had a forgettable season and even missed the Presidents Cup. But, as far as parenting goes, Fowler is still a veteran to rookie JT. A few days back, Thomas announced that he was going to be a new father this November. And he has been gearing up for this new ‘challenge’ with the help of friends. It’s little wonder Thomas reached out to Fowler for parenting advice. What did Fowler tell his good friend?
“I think a lot of the stuff I’ve told them is things that worked for here or worked for other people or other babies. It all ends up being trial and error. You make decisions on your own; move forward with them. If it works, great; if not, move on to the next thing,” Rickie Fowler said from the Sanderson Farms Championship pre-tournament press conference.
The six-time PGA Tour winner, himself, welcomed his second daughter just a few months back. “Welcome to Crew Nellie,” the 35-year-old wrote on his Instagram handle in August. Maya, his first child, was born in 2021. On top of it, Fowler and Thomas already shared a strong bond. At last year’s Scottish Open, he was seen waiting on his hotel balcony when Thomas came to the tee box. They both waved at each other; Fowler’s round was done by that time. A few years before that, Jordan Spieth, Thomas Fowler, and now golfer-turned-broadcaster Smylie Kaufman went on a golf trip together.
Rickie lurks @ScottishOpen @RickieFowler | @JustinThomas34 pic.twitter.com/r1zFtHb7tD
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 14, 2023
It’s little surprise that the duo, and perhaps even Spieth too, have new topics of conversation. “I guess I’ve always told people in a way; I tell myself, too, whenever things get a little questionable or worried, there’s been a lot less comps of people that have done this successfully before us as well as we’ve been doing this since the beginning of time,” Fowler added.
Surely, 2025 is going to be Father Time on the PGA Tour. Not that this year, it wasn’t. Fowler is one of the handful of pros who welcome their children this year. And it turns out PGA Tour players are pros at handling paternal duties.
PGA Tour fathers bond over family time
PGA Tour pros helping out each other for parenting was one of the most heartwarming moments from this year. At TPC Southwind, Sam Burns, Scottie Scheffler’s best buddy on Tour, was seen holding Bennet while the world no. 1 was teeing off. At one point, the five-time PGA Tour winner hoisted Bennet to get a better view of Dad’s game.
It was strangely reminiscent of Spieth holding up his baby to a roaring gallery in a Liong King-esque moment. Interestingly, Burns himself became a new dad almost around the same time as his PGA Tour pro buddy. And Uncle Xander Schauffele was sharing ‘parenting’ duties with him in the practice round. The world no. 2 was holding Bear when Dad Burns went ahead with his practice round. But it seems that was just the beginning. The world can surely have more such moments next year.
