Fowler was an Excellent Choice for a Sponsor's Exemption

All fine golfers, but not one is the type of needle mover that Fowler or Spieth is.

“You always want to prove while we're here and getting a tee time,” Fowler said after his even-par round on Thursday. “I've been very fortunate this year to have received a handful, and very grateful for the ones that I've, that I've gotten.”

Ranked 90^th in the FedEx Cup ranking after a T16 at last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge, the 36-year-old is starting to trend in the right direction, which includes a brief stint on top of Thursday’s leaderboard at 4-under before Muirfield Village jumped up and got Fowler’s attention.

“Could have been worse, could have been a lot better,” Fowler said of his 51^st round at Muirfield Village. “It's a little soft, but I've got a handful of mud balls. So, we'll see. Hopefully, it can dry out where fairways will start to play a little firmer, faster, and maybe not have to deal with that rain potential tomorrow.”

Fowler has had his chances at the Memorial, finishing solo second in his first appearance in 2010. He has not missed a Memorial since.

When the Captain’s Club, the responsible party, determines who should get an exemption and who shouldn’t, the fact that Fowler supported the event for 15 consecutive years has to count for something.

“Trying to take advantage,” Fowler said of the exemptions he has received. “Truist was a was close to being a good week and this place is such a fine line between playing what can be a good round or being in some funky spots you can there's a lot of holes that you can make birdie on, or make double really quickly, just the difference in a couple yards. So, I've had some very good weeks here. Some, I want to obviously take advantage of the opportunity of being here.”