Why did Rickie Fowler, other pros wear black ribbons at 3M Open?

Rickie Fowler and other pros wore black ribbons at the 3M Open to honor Kayla Hale, wife of longtime Odyssey Tour rep Cody Hale, who died at the age of 38 while battling cancer. Kayla left behind her husband and two children.

Fowler joined the press conference after the opening round of the 3M Open and shared about his connection with Cody. He said:

“I've known Cody for a handful of years. He's helped me quite a bit on putters when I've used the Oddysey products. Great guy and this is -- his wife was battling cancer for a while and was in remission, and popped back up and unfortunately passed I guess about a week and a half ago now. So he's someone that's -- Cody's part of the family out here and when you're part of the family, their family's part of the family, too.”

He continued, “Can't really imagine what they're all going through, him and his boys, but to be able to at least help out and show our support, I think everyone out here does a great job of that. Hopefully we'll be able to see him back out here soon. I know he loves being out here with all of us. At this time I know he wants to be home with his boys. Hopefully they can get through this.”

Fowler will play the second round on Friday. Notably, the 36-year-old golfer scored 6 under after the first round.

How has Rickie Fowler performed in the 2025 season?

Rickie Fowler has had six top-20 finishes in the 2025 season, including a T7 at the Memorial Tournament, a T16 at the Charles Schwab Challenge, and a T15 at the Truist Championship with 1 under, 5 under, and 8 under, respectively. His last appearance was at the Barracuda Championship, where he landed at T14 with an 8-under score. Here's a list of Fowler's 2025 performances:

2025 PGA TOUR Tournaments

The American Express at the Pete Dye Stadium Course: T21, 69-62-71-71, 273 (-15)
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at the Pebble Beach Golf Links: T53, 68-69-72-73
WM Phoenix Open at the TPC Scottsdale (Stadium Course): Withdrawn, 74, 74 (+3)
The Genesis Invitational at the Torrey Pines (South Course): T39, 77-69-70-74, 290 (+2)
Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches: T18, 64-68-68-72, 272 (-12)
THE PLAYERS Championship: 71, 68-71-82-79, 300 (+12)
Texas Children's Houston Open at the Memorial Park Golf Course: T52, 69-68-69-69, 275 (-5)
Valero Texas Open at the TPC San Antonio (Oaks Course): T30, 75-65-73-75, 288 (E)
RBC Heritage at the Harbour Town Golf Links: 68, 72-67-72-73, 284 (E)
Truist Championship at the Philadelphia Cricket Club: T15, 63-71-69-69, 272 (-8)
PGA Championship at the Quail Hollow Club: Missed cut
Charles Schwab Challenge at the Colonial Country Club: T16, 70-64-67-74, 275 (-5)
The Memorial Tournament at the Muirfield Village Golf Club: T7, 72-73-69-73, 287 (-1)
Travelers Championship at the TPC River Highlands: T36, 70-77-64-67, 278 (-2)
Rocket Classic at the Detroit Golf Club: Missed cut
John Deere Classic at the TPC Deere Run: T18, 65-72-67-66, 270 (-14)
Barracuda Championship: T14, 69-72-70-65, 276 (-8)

About the author

Suchita Chakraborty is a senior golf writer at Sportskeeda. She did her post-graduation at St. Xavier's University. For a year now, she has developed a riveting inclination toward golf, with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy being her top-tier motivational figures to indulge in the sport. She even lives by the words of the Hall of Famer, "You can always become better", which impels her to excel every day. Her strong suit in golf is covering the LPGA Tour, especially the nooks and crannies of the international event, the Solheim Cup. As a pastime amusement, Suchita also engages herself in reading about golf controversies. Her favorite pick is ‘LIV and Let Die’ by Alan Shipnuck, which covers the PGA-LIV beef.

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Edited by Pratham K Sharma