ORLANDO — Outside of a major championship there are few events Rickie Fowler would rather win than the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
And considering he has a Players championship among his six PGA Tour wins, the API might just be at the top of that list.
“This has always been one of my favorite events,” Fowler said. “This is a special one, especially with the field, the golf course, the test. It’s a grind and the guys that win here and have success here, you can’t fake it around this place, you have to earn it.”
Fowler certainly has not faked it the first two days of this year’s tournament. A pair of 69s has him at 6-under and near the top of the leaderboard, 7 shots behind Daniel Berger, entering the weekend.
Fowler, 37, is looking for his first win — and just second top 10 — in Arnie’s event in 14 tries.
Fowler’s reverence and admiration for Palmer has been on display since he emerged as that kid with the colorful clothes, flat-brimmed hat and shaggy hair. He and one of the most legendary, iconic names in golf connected, mostly because Fowler has always been one the most accessible, respectable players in the game, spending as much time with his fans as possible, especially kids.
Just like Arnie, who was as passionate about satisfying every request for his autograph as he was about his game.
Fowler has lived by Palmer’s principles much of his career, which is why the Jupiter resident has been recognized by the Palmer family on two occasions.
Fowler served as a key ambassador for the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2019, partnering with Puma and the Arnold Palmer Foundation to wear custom-designed apparel, shoes, and a staff bag featuring Palmer’s red, yellow, white, and green umbrella logo.
Just two days before the start of this year’s tournament, Golf Digest presented Fowler the Arnie Award for his foundation’s efforts with youth-oriented charitable causes. He was presented a bronze statue of Palmer standing with one hand on his hip and one resting at the top of a golf club.
“He meant so much to me,” Fowler said. “To have him as someone I was able to look up to, to learn from, try to be as much like him as possible. Someone who helped pave the way and set an example for the rest of us in the game.”
Sam Saunders, Palmer’s grandson who retired from professional golf after a 15-year career, praised Fowler for his “charisma” and being so much like his grandfather.
“You truly do embody the spirit of Arnold Palmer,” Saunders said.
Rickie Fowler motivated by being snubbed by API in 2025
Fowler has been a lightning rod for those jealous of his success. His career has been a bit of a roller coaster since his early success, going from a consistent top 10 in the world from 2014 to 2018, dropping as low at No. 185 in 2022, getting back into the top 20 and again falling below 100.
He’s currently 67th.
That didn’t sit well with people like Nick Faldo, who thought at one point it was his job to tell Fowler how to live his life, tweeting in 2021 that if Fowler missed the Masters “he can shoot another six commercials that week.”
But Fowler reacted with class, trying to protect Faldo by saying the message’s purpose was more to motivate.
Fowler does not have to apologize to anyone, especially for a career that has been as successful off the course as on.
Except, one man.
And that man was Arnold Palmer.
It was 2016 and because of scheduling reasons Fowler decided he would not play the API. So he set up a lunch to tell the man himself.
Fowler remembers it well to this day.
“It was probably one of the hardest things I had to do,” Fowler said. “Felt like worse than a breakup. To come up here and tell him that … he wasn’t too excited. But obviously him being a player he understood and respected that I came here and told him.”
Palmer died later that year.
Fowler later found out how Palmer felt. Last year the API was a Signature Event as it is now, and Fowler did not qualify. He was passed over for an exemption, breaking an eight-consecutive year streak playing at Bay Hill.
Looking back, that might have been the best thing that happened when it comes to 2026 and Fowler’s attempt to win the one tournament he would put very high, if not at the top, on his list.
“It gave me a little motivation,” he said.
And if he does win, Fowler will have one regret.
“It would be a lot more special being able to get that red sweater from Arnie himself,” he said.
Tom D’Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Rickie Fowler’s connection to Arnold Palmer drives his play | D’Angelo
Reporting by Tom D’Angelo, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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