Rickie Fowler hits back at PGA Championship invite critics with reminder of Players glory: "It fuels me"

Rickie Fowler has hit back at the criticism of his PGA Championship exemption. He cited the example of the Players Championship 2015 win, stating that the negative talks fueled him.

On Thursday, May 8, Fowler fired a low 63 to finish at T3. He picked up eight birdies and only bogeyed the last hole to finish two shots behind the lead. The round came just a few days after he got enlisted into the field for the next major championship of the season.

During the post-round interview, the six-time PGA Tour winner was asked about the criticism of his exemption to the Quail Hollow next week.

"The negative stuff, I would say, kind of helps me in a way because it fuels me to kind of go out and prove people wrong," he replied. "I feel like there was something prior to 2015 PLAYERS saying I was the most overrated player, and that worked out all right that week."

The PGA Championship 2025 will take place at Quail Hollow Golf Club from Thursday, May 15 to Sunday, May 18.

Rickie Fowler has made 15 starts at the PGA Championship so far and has made 12 cuts.

When will Rickie Fowler tee off at the Truist Championship, Round 2?

Rickie Fowler is paired alongside Andrew Novak and Gary Woodland for the second round of the Truist Championship. The trio will tee off from the tenth tee on Friday, May 9, at 10:01 am ET.

Here's a look at the tee time details for the Truist Championship, Round 2 (all times ET):

Hole 1

8:00 am: Keith Mitchell, Michael Kim, Michael Thorbjornsen
8:11 am: Keegan Bradley, Shane Lowry, Justin Rose
8:22 am: Russell Henley, Ludvig Aberg, Sepp Straka
8:33 am: Hideki Matsuyama, Xander Schauffele, Akshay Bhatia
8:44 am: Thomas Detry, Matt Fitzpatrick, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
8:55 am: Garrick Higgo, Daniel Berger, Jacob Bridgeman
9:04 am: Joe Highsmith, Harris English, Rasmus Hojgaard
9:17 am: Robert MacIntyre, Davis Thompson, Denny McCarthy
9:28 am: Chris Kirk, Corey Conners, Adam Hadwin
9:39 am: Sungjae Im, Adam Scott, Alex Noren
9:50 am: Austin Eckroat, Aaron Rai, Will Zalatoris
10:01 am: Nick Taylor, Erik van Rooyen, J.J. Spaun

Hole 10

8:00 am: Min Woo Lee, Maverick McNealy, Jordan Spieth
8:11 am: Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood
8:22 am: Viktor Hovland, Wyndham Clark, Collin Morikawa
8:33 am: Taylor Pendrith, Tony Finau, Max Homa
8:44 am: Nick Dunlap, Matthieu Pavon, Si Woo Kim
8:55 am: Brian Campbell, Patrick Rodgers, Ryan Gerard
9:06 am: Ben Griffin, Lucas Glover, Sam Stevens
9:17 pm: Brian Harman, Patrick Cantlay, Tom Hoge
9:28 am: Sahith Theegala, Cameron Young, Max Greyserman
9:39 am: Sam Burns, Byeong Hun An, Eric Cole
9:50 am: J.T. Poston, Cam Davis, Stephan Jaeger
10:01 am: Andrew Novak, Rickie Fowler, Gary Woodland

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Edited by Shobhit Kukreti