Rickie Fowler returns for Sanderson Farms Championship after extended break to be a Dad

Fowler has not played in a PGA Tour event since the Open, but now he is back for the Sanderson Farms Championship.

Rickie Fowler is back in action this week after he took some time away from golf to spend with his family.

He will make his first start at the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi. It will also be his first FedEx Cup Fall event of the year.

This season was not his best, as he was No. 110 in the FedEx Cup rankings. He last played on Tour for the Open Championship at Royal Troon in July.

Fowler finished that tournament in 71st place. There were only nine players who shot higher scores than him. Since then, nearly three months have gone by without him making a start on the PGA Tour.

The former Oklahoma State Cowboy and his wife, Allison, announced the birth of Nellie, their second child, in August 2024. It makes sense why he took an extended break to help at home with Maya and Nellie.

“I’ve enjoyed being able to help out as much as possible,” he said. “Going from one to two, you can do the one together versus — Allison is on top of all of Nellie’s stuff as well as Maya, but she can’t be in two places at once.

His PGA Tour card is secure through 2025, so he did not necessarily have to play a lot in the last few months. Instead, he has honed in on his cooking skills and helping out more with his oldest, Maya.

“She’s been tough on us at times,” Fowler said about Maya. “She’s a ball of energy. She’s always on the go — trying to keep up with her. Had a lot of one-on-one bath times with Maya over the last two and a half three months.”

“It’s much more one-on-one time if Allison needs to be with Nellie. It’s been fun. We’ve had to try and be as strict as possible in ways because she’s in the stage of trying to get away with as much as she can and see where those boundaries and limits are. But it’s all part of it. She’s two and a half, going on three. They’re supposed to be a little naughty.”

Now that things have gotten into the new routine at home, Fowler is gearing up on Tour again. He will play this week and stated Vegas (The Shriners Children’s Open) and the ZOZO Championship would be his next two starts.

Fowler felt adding the Sanderson Farms Championship was beneficial.

“This one was kind of on my radar, and I wanted to make sure I felt ready to go play,” he said. “Also being able to use it as — one, I want to come here and know and feel like I can go win, but at the same time put myself in a better position to play well in the coming weeks, as well.”

He mentioned that other players who typically participate in this event bragged about the quality of The Country Club of Jackson’s course. When golfers like the course, it can usually attract new players who need to add tournaments to their schedules.

Fowler will look to knock off the rust this week in Mississippi. He will play alongside Jhonattan Vegas and Lucas Glover, teeing off at 1:45 p.m. ET on Thursday.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.