Rickie Fowler has been grinding all season, racking up four top-10s and showing some real momentum. While he locked up a spot at the 2026 U.S. Open last week, the Open Championship status was still uncertain. But now that has changed.

Fowler has secured entry into both the 2026 U.S. Open and the Open Championship. The U.S. Open berth came via the OWGR Top 60 cutoff on May 18, when Fowler was among the players added to the Shinnecock field. The Open Championship spot opened thanks to another OWGR top-50 cutoff. Every player inside the top 50 in OWGR as of May 24 (not otherwise exempt) earned a spot at Royal Birkdale. Fowler was outside the top 50 at the start of the month, but thanks to his runner-up finish at the Truist Championship, he moved up 15 spots to 37th. But once again his T60 at the PGA Championship put his Open Championship qualification in doubt.

However, after the May 24 update, it turned out Rickie Fowler barely slipped one spot to 38th and sealed his spot at Royal Birkdale as seen in Open Championship’s Qualification Tracker. The last time the Open Championship was hosted there, Fowler bagged a T22. At that time, despite being a favorite entering the field, Fowler couldn’t really move into contention. He fired three rounds of 71 and a 67. He would definitely look forward to changing that this time around. At last year’s Open Championship, Fowler managed a T14, one of his five top-25 finishes at The Open.

That sigh of relief is well deserved. At the Valero Texas Open in April, Fowler shot a 70 and a 75 but missed the cut by just one shot. That meant he lost his chance to play in the Masters. Last year was even tougher. He missed the Masters and then lost in a playoff at the U.S. Open final qualifying at Kinsale. Afterward, his shoulder injury kept him out for the rest of 2025. Playing in majors used to be routine for Rickie, but suddenly it became a real challenge.

Fowler’s always been open about how much the majors mean to him. He’s got 13 top-10s in 54 starts, but that first win is still out there. He loves links golf, and Birkdale isn’t just another stop for him. It’s the kind of place where he usually brings his best. Remember Royal Liverpool in 2014? Runner-up. Royal Portrush in 2019? Top six. The Open itself hasn’t really been the issue. It’s getting into the mix late on Sunday that’s been the tough part.

The 2026 season suggests the rest of the game is catching up. Fowler has made 10 of 12 cuts, with finishes at the Truist Championship (T2), Cadillac Championship (ninth), RBC Heritage (eighth), and Arnold Palmer Invitational (ninth). He sits 18th in SG: Total (+0.934) and 20th in SG: Putting (+0.464). CBS Sports reporter Amanda Balionis put it plainly after his Truist finish:

“I have a feeling we will be seeing a lot of @rickiefowler on the leaderboards this summer.”

The Truist Championship performance was his third consecutive top-ten finish of this season. And Fowler surely knows how to turn things around.

Rickie Fowler has rebuilt from this point before

Fowler has been here before, fighting his way back from the edge of qualification. He missed the Masters three years in a row, only to return in 2024 after winning the Rocket Mortgage Classic. This season follows a similar pattern, but the difference is in the numbers. His strokes gained stats in approach, putting, and total all sit inside the tour’s top 20. These results have come at different events and on different courses. This is not a one-off performance. This is a game that is working.

Fowler has been clear about where this is all headed. “I still believe I have a major in me,” he said in 2023. “I know I can get there.” CBS Sports analyst Shane Bacon is watching the same evidence and reaching the same conclusion. After Fowler’s Truist runner-up, Bacon said: “Rickie wins this year. I think Rickie gets a win this year. Maybe post-Open Championship or maybe between the Open is a place I’d look at.”

Now Fowler returns on his own terms. The qualifying pressure is behind him. The real question is what he does once the championship week arrives.