Rickie Fowler played well the first two days to comfortably make the cut at thePGA Championship .- Fowler said that his practice rounds with
Michael Jordan were a great benefit. - "Playing against M.J. is as good as it gets to prep," Fowler said.
Rickie Fowler has found a bit of form this weekend at the PGA Championship.
During a tough season that saw him miss out on qualifying for the Masters for the first time since 2010, Fowler delivered a solid round on Thursday and ground out another good effort on Friday to make the cut with comfort at what has so far been a brutal PGA Championship.
After his round on Thursday, Fowler credited his play to the preparation he put in ahead of the tournament, specifically, practicing with Michael Jordan.
"Playing against M.J. is as good as it gets to prep," Fowler said.
Fowler has been a guest at Jordan's exclusive course, Grove XXIII, several times and gave the course the nickname "Slaughterhouse 23" because it is designed to benefit Jordan's style of play and punish the pros he might be playing.
Fowler said that playing Jordan for money at his own course is not for the faint of heart.
"I think not having to hand out any money to M.J. has been probably the bigger wins because of how Grove sets up for him, where he's able to press," Fowler said.
Fowler said he gives Jordan 10 strokes a match, which is a difficult cushion to overcome even when he's playing well.
"I was 7-under through 17 holes and lost," Fowler said. "Yeah, it was like, thanks for coming."
Fowler may have lost a few dollars to Jordan in his prep for the PGA Championship, but if he can put together two more quality rounds over the weekend, he should leave with more than enough winnings to make up for it.