‘I used to dress up as Rickie Fowler, PGA Tour title duel is full circle moment’
Michael Brennan fulfilled a dream by playing alongside Rickie Fowler, someone he used to ‘dress up’ as in the past, as he continued to work his way up on his PGA Tour journey
Michael Brennan fulfilled a dream by playing alongside Rickie Fowler, someone he emulated.
After the third round of the Rocket Classic, Brennan was in sole possession of second place, finishing Saturday’s round just one stroke behind Davis Riley. Meanwhile, Fowler sat T3, tied with Chris Kirk, Cameron Young, and Rasmus Hojgaard, putting him in a prime position for a win.
With the third round in the books, Brennan spoke of how he used to emulate Fowler and how the star felt being able to play alongside someone he looked up to. The admission comes after the star explained how he missed the loss of a PGA Tour event that meant close to him
“Yeah, it was cool,” Brennan said to reporters after the third found. “I see him and we always say, ‘What’s up.’ It’s maybe not as big of a moment as it was for me a few years ago when I played the practice round with him. But yeah, it’s crazy kind of a full circle moment.
“My dad sent me a photo of — a picture of me dressed up as Rickie with him signing it saying, ‘Look forward to playing a practice round at the ’25 U.S. Open,’ so it was cool.”
After the third round, both Brennan and Fowler shared a moment, as the fans watching applauded how well the latter had played at the Detroit Golf Club. Speaking to Amanda Balionis following the round, Fowler spoke about how it felt to have the crowd behind him and his interactions with Brennan.
“Well, I don’t feel maybe as old as I am,” he joked with the CBS Sports reporter. “I know I’m definitely not anywhere old by any means, but I feel a lot younger than I am. Yeah, he asked when we’re heading over to the 16th tee, you know, does it ever get old or, you know, I think that was kind of the wording and just kind of talked about it.
“I was like, ‘No,’ I mean, I love it and, you know, some people, you know, come up and ask like, ‘Hey, I hate to bother you, you know, but can I get a picture?’ And a lot of times I’ll tell people, I’m like, when people stop asking, that’s when I have a problem.
“So, to be in this position, to be loved by the fans is amazing and so it’s part of the territory.”
Fowler also noted that being able to connect with fans was a “great spot to be in” and that being with those who supported him was a worthwhile experience.
“You have to embrace it because you can’t have both sides,” he added. “You can’t, you know, play well and want to be, you know, someone that’s, you know, a name out here but then want to go like hide out
“So, to be able to have the time that I do with the fans, have the support, be able to, you know, go sign autographs, take pictures, it’s part of it and it’s a lot of fun.” As for Brennan, he said that he was “just trying to stay” where his feet are and has “incremental goals.”
“I like to set three-hole goals and just try to hit those as best I can, not think about anything that’s going on and really focus on what I’m able to control,” he said.
If he were able to pull out the win, Brennan said, “It would be awesome. It would be great. I’d be playing Memphis and it would be awesome.”