Why Rickie Fowler's FedEx Cup Run Has Drawn Scrutiny

Rickie Fowler has made it through to the BMW Championship and week two of the FedEx Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2023 and only the second time since 2019.

The six-time PGA Tour winner is enjoying a solid season on the PGA Tour with eight top-25s from 20 starts, but his rise up inside the top 50 of the standings after the FedEx St Jude Championship has been somewhat controversial and drawn criticism.

That's because Fowler has benefitted from a number of sponsor's invites into the big $20m Signature Events in 2025, where inflated FedEx Cup points are on offer.

The American did not finish in the top 50 last year so therefore did not automatically qualify for the Signature Events. You can also qualify by ranking in the world's top 30 or via the Aon Next 10 and Aon Swing 5, which reward good play, while another method into the fields is via sponsor's invite.

Each Signature Event has room for four sponsor's invitations, and Fowler received six invites into the eight tournaments this year.

Fowler's biggest week of the year in terms of Fedex Cup points came at a Signature Event - The Memorial Tournament. He finished T7th that week to earn 176 points. He also earned his way into The Open via his strong Memorial performance.

The Californian finished just 70 points clear of Chris Kirk in 51st position, who has been eliminated from the Playoffs and misses out on next year's Signature Events.

This slim 70-point margin essentially means that Fowler's sponsor's invites were a key reason why he progressed through to the BMW Championship - which means he has now qualified for all eight Signature Events next year by merit.

Fowler also earned 85 points at the Genesis Invitational off the back of a sponsor invite and 10.5 at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, another of his Signature Event invites. Another invite came at the Travelers Championship, where he earned 21 FedEx Cup points.

It has caused controversy with some golf fans, with one user @TourPicks saying that it "just is not fair."

Arccos Golf's stats guru Lou Stagner agreed to the post on X, which has almost 400,000 views, saying "it just doesn't feel right."

Others will say that sponsor's invites are perfectly acceptable, as they are the organizations putting their money into the sport and have the right to invite whoever they please.

Rickie Fowler is undoubtedly one of the biggest names in golf with one of the largest fanbases, so inviting him may help to drive TV ratings, publicity of the event and ticket sales.

"Well, being that I got a handful of spots this year, which I'm incredibly grateful for, unfortunately I really didn't take advantage of many of those opportunities up until Jack's event," Fowler said on his sponsor's invites when asked about not needing them next year.

"Didn't play that well in any of them. Those elevated fields and maybe some more points, I didn't really get them.

"But it was great to have a tee time in them this year, and didn't really want to bank on that for next year.

"Yeah, nice to be in a position where we'll be able to be back in those and not have to write notes and calls and ask for favors."

Is Ricke Fowler criticism fair?

Fowler's critics are very fair, as the PGA Tour operates a meritocracy system where results are earned via scores shot on the golf course and not by fame or stardom.

He did not qualify for the Signature Events so should not have been allowed to play in as many as he did...although it is a tricky subject.

Sponsor's invites will always be a difficult topic as the events would not be what they are without the big corporate money backing them.

As I wrote earlier this year when we debated if sponsor's invites should be allowed in Signature Events, sponsors 'are well within their rights to add whoever they wish to their event.'

In an ideal world, a player should only be allowed one or two sponsor's invites per season to keep it fair for those who don't regularly receive invites, but the PGA Tour needs the sponsors on-side so there certainly isn't much that can be done.

If a Truist or a Genesis is putting up a $20m purse and wants Rickie Fowler there taking part, it would be a bold move from the PGA Tour to tell them no.

I believe Fowler has been fortunate this year to receive invites into so many events - there is no getting away from that - but there is a case that he is deserving of them. He is one of the biggest names in the sport and has had a very impressive career spanning 15 years.

He is also one of the most likeable figures in the game and him contending in or even winning the event would create far more headlines and media coverage than the majority of players.

Either the tour completely stops sponsor's invites into its biggest events or we just accept the reality that the corporations putting up the money are well within their right to add whoever they choose to their tournament fields.

Fowler has undoubtedly been lucky this year but you could argue that his luck has been well earned.