Whispers of Rickie Fowler‘s absence from competitive golf have been making the rounds within the PGA Tour community. The six-time PGA Tour winner last appeared at the BMW Championship (T7). He had only three top tens this season. Sitting at 78th in the OWGR standings, his performance in 2025 could barely justify such a long layoff. But turns out Fowler was recovering from an injury that impacted his game throughout the season.

Recently, the 36-year-old PGA Tour pro appeared on Grant Horvat‘s YouTube channel for a fun match at Tequesta Country Club. Horvat started with a five-stroke advantage over Fowler. Joking about that, Horvat asked if Fowler thought it was a fair advantage. “First competitive round in two and a half months,” said the six-time PGA Tour winner while taking a practice shot.

Quizzed on that, Fowler admitted, “I had some shoulder issues all year. Luckily played good enough to earn some time off. I only hit balls a few times, and I [have] probably played about six rounds now. Still a little slow.” While Fowler didn’t reveal what kind of shoulder injury he had, it was pretty evident that it had a negative impact on his game.  He also missed out on getting into the Ryder Cup team.

Shoulder injuries have been a common physical issue for professional golfers because the golf swing demands heavy rotation and force. Stiffness, labrum strains, or rotator cuff micro-tears are the most common variations of shoulder injuries in golf. However, it is not the first time Fowler’s season was derailed by injuries. Back in 2018, there were reports of Fowler going through an injury on his right oblique muscle; the shoulder appears to be his current hurdle. This season, there were doubts whether Fowler could make it to the FedEx Cup Playoffs or not. However, despite not playing well, the 36-year-old got into the FedEx Cup Playoffs thanks to multiple sponsor exemptions.

Fowler’s sponsor exemptions caused a stir

Rickie Fowler received six sponsor exemptions this season. And all of them have been to Signature Events, which helped him earn more FedEx Cup points than regular events despite not finishing near the top of the leaderboard. Fowler finished at T7 at the Memorial Tournament, a signature event, and punched his ticket to the Open Championship. At Royal Portrush, Fowler managed a T14, which earned him enough points to enter the first stage of the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

However, critics pointed out that without the special favor from sponsors, it wouldn’t have been possible for Rickie Fowler to enter the Signature events and get into the Playoffs. But he managed to silence the critics with his strong performance in two Playoff events: the FedEx St. Jude Championship (T6) and the BMW Championship (T7).

The news of his battling with a shoulder injury might have quietened the criticism at that time. However, Fowler never talked about it until now. And even now, as he told Horvat, it’s not an excuse for him. Hopefully, Fowler will bounce back stronger next season now that he is free from the niggling health issue.