By Tod Leonard
It seems like only yesterday that Rickie Fowler was a kid himself, adored by other kids who aspired to be just like him. Now he has a kid of his own.

On Thanksgiving day, Fowler, 32, and his wife Allison Stokke, 32, announced the birth of their daughter Maya, who was born on Nov. 18.

“Happy Thanksgiving everyone!” Fowler wrote on Instagram. “As you can see Allison & I are beyond thankful…a whole new meaning to life!! Maya Fowler born 11/18/21 My heart is full!”

In her own post, Stokke wrote, “Maya Fowler … couldn’t be more thankful!! Happy Thanksgiving.”

A number of players immediately congratulated the couple, who announced the pregnancy in June. They included Max Homa, Lee Westwood and Luke Donald—the latter writing, “Welcome to #girldad life Rickie.”

Golf’s Young Guns have gone from bro-ish yacht vacations to potentially sharing playground swings. Only a week ago, Jordan Spieth and his wife, Annie, announced the birth of their first child, a boy named Sammy, who was born on Nov. 14.

Fowler and Stokke, a former track and field athlete and fitness model, first announced their relationship in 2017, and in 2018 Fowler proposed marriage during U.S. Open week at Shinnecock Hills. They wed in October 2019.

The post Rickie Fowler and his wife give thanks by announcing the birth of daughter appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

On Monday, one day after Father’s Day, Fowler announced that his wife, Allison Stokke, is pregnant, making him a dad-to-be. Both he and Stokke announced the news via their Instagram accounts.

“Reservation for November… Fowler party of 3 #GirlDad,” wrote Fowler on Instagram, revealing the month the baby is due as well as the gender. “Coming in November @rickiefowler might find himself a little outnumbered,” Stokke wrote.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by R I C K I E (@rickiefowler)

The news comes less than 24 hours after Jon Rahm, a new father himself, claimed his first major title at the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. After holing what turned out to be the eventual winning putt on the 72nd green, Rahm immediately grabbed his baby son Kepa from wife Kelley, walking off with a huge smile on his face as he held him. The “Jon Rahm has new perspective on life because he’s a dad now” story line was officially complete.

Fowler hopes to experience a similar moment some day soon, and it will no doubt become a big story line in his immediate future as he looks to get his career back on track. He did not play in this past week’s U.S. Open, as he failed to qualify, but he will be back in action this week at the Travelers Championship, where the vibes will no doubt be very good for the 32-year-old.

More importantly, congrats to the happy couple is in order. They first announced their relationship in April of 2017, and just over a year later Fowler proposed to her during U.S. Open week at Shinnecock. In October 2019, they were married, and now less than two years later they are having their first child. Time has flown for the once-famously single Fowler. Here’s hoping there are many more good things to come for he and Stokke, both on and off the course.

The post Rickie Fowler announces his wife Allison Stokke is pregnant with a girl appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Brian Wacker
Rickie Fowler will not be playing in next week’s Mayakoba Golf Classic after contacting an intestinal bacterial infection that he said he got while on his honeymoon last month.

“I am taking medicine prescribed by my physician,” Fowler said in a statement. “But am not at full strength yet. As a result, I am ill-prepared to compete next week.”

The five-time PGA Tour winner had announced in September his intention to play in Mayakoba for a third straight year but withdrew from the event on Friday. It was to be his first PGA Tour start of the 2019-’20 season after taking time off since last playing in the Tour Championship to get married to his girlfriend Allison Stokke.

Fowler, 30, told Golfweek that he came down with Campylobacter jejuni and suffered cramping, a fever and pain. He said the infection hit him toward the end of the vacation and that he began feeling better only a few days ago.

News that Fowler would be skipping Mayakoba came two days after his name was not called among Tiger Woods’ four captain’s picks for the U.S. Presidents Cup team.

Woods said that leaving Fowler off the team was his toughest decision when considering who to use his picks on to round out the U.S. roster for next month’s matches at Royal Melbourne. Fowler, who finished T-16 in Mexico a year ago and had six top-10 finishes including a win in Phoenix during the 2018-’19 season, is a veteran of four Ryder Cups and two Presidents Cups.

However, with Brooks Koepka still nursing a knee injury it’s possible that Fowler could still end up playing for the U.S. Should Koepka not be able to play, Woods would essentially be granted a fifth pick. Then it would be a matter of whether had enough time to prepare.

Fowler is next scheduled to play at Woods’ Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas the week prior to the Presidents Cup. He also told Golfweek there’s a slight chance that he would play in the RSM Classic, the final PGA Tour event of 2019, in two weeks.

The post Rickie Fowler to miss Mayakoba Golf Classic due to intestinal bacterial infection appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

What we can confirm, thanks to the reporting of The Action Network’s Darren Rovell, is that Puma lent its star golfer the company’s Gulfstream V for their flight to their honeymoon. That’s a pretty nice wedding gift . . . we’re not exactly sure what the fuel prices for flying private look like, but we’re assuming flying around the world to South Africa isn’t cheap.

Here are the photos Rickie shared. Scroll through the carousel to see the other pics he shared:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A big thanks to @puma for helping make our honeymoon possible!

A post shared by R I C K I E (@rickiefowler) on Oct 21, 2019 at 12:42pm PDT

And here’s the nice view out the private jet that Allison shared. You can see the Puma logo clearly:

As someone who missed the first day of his honeymoon just a few months ago because he missed the second connection on a commercial flight, this is yet another reason to be envious of Rickie Fowler’s lifestyle.

We’re sure there’s more content to come from this power couple on their honeymoon. We’re here for it.

The post Fowler and bride off on honeymoon in private jet appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

WE’RE BUYING

Lanto Griffin: Named after Lord Lanto, a spiritual master, Griffin clearly mastered his nerves down the stretch of the Houston Open. He rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt to take the lead on No. 16 before two-putting from 60 feet on the 18th hole to close out his first PGA Tour title. And then the tears flowed like rain—and it was awesome:

Icon Sportswire

It’s been quite a journey for Lanto, who just a few years ago had $30,000 racked up on credit cards and whose biggest golf paycheck until 2017 ($17,000) came from being a fill-in caddie for Will Wilcox at the 2014 Greenbrier Classic. Now he’s No. 1 in the FedEx Cup standings and working on a five-week streak of finishing in the top 20. The man named after the Lord of Light is lighting it up. Sorry, couldn’t help it.

Bernd Wiesberger: Speaking of quick turnarounds, the 34-year-old Austrian, who missed most of 2018 with a wrist injury, had fallen to No. 389 in the Official World Golf Ranking in May. But a victory in the Italian Open on Sunday—his third European Tour title since—has him at a career-best No. 22. He’s also the new leader in the Race to Dubai.

Andrew Redington/Getty Images

The guy is really Bernding it up right now! (Again, sorry, couldn’t help it.)

Rickie-Allison: The photos and details are scarce, but Fowler married Stokke on Oct. 5 in what looked to be a lovely beach ceremony:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3fBm4SJDMW/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=dlfix

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3fBmdvARtu/

As you can see, Fowler kept it “cazh” with a tee shirt and white sneakers while Allison looked stunning. Shocker, I know. She also showed some serious discipline waiting nearly a week to share a few photos. Clearly, the guests had a social-media ban as well, which is why no videos of the SB2K Crew tearing up the dance floor have surfaced. At least, not yet.

Mike Maddux’s golf: St. Louis Cardinals pitching coach Mike Maddux and brother of Hall-of-Fame pitcher Greg Maddux—a strong golfer in his own right—made two holes-in-one in the same round on Monday. As the great Mel Allen would say, “How about that?!”

Big day for @Cardinals pitching coach Mike Maddux who had TWO hole-in-ones at the Army/Navy course today. His 5th and 6th… pic.twitter.com/3PNc9PzsS1

— Jon Sciambi (@BoogSciambi) October 14, 2019

WE’RE SELLING

Mike Maddux’s staff: Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Mike Maddux’s aces on the golf course have completely outshined his aces on the pitching staff. Hours after news of his golf feat made the rounds, the Cardinals lost 8-1 to the Washington Nationals to fall into a 3-0 hole in the National League Championship Series. It’s looking like Maddux will be playing more fall golf next week rather than participating in the fall classic.

Replacing an old friend: I got a little emotional moving our upstairs couches downstairs (my basement lair looks awesome now), so I can only imagine what Henrik Stenson felt like moving on from his famous 3-wood. But after nearly a decade of hitting that thing like most pros dream of hitting a driver, the 43-year-old Swede has moved on to some new technology.

Rest easy, 3-wood. ? https://t.co/ZgldhZKMuj

— Henrik Stenson (@henrikstenson) October 9, 2019

Hang in there, Henrik.

Golf in Montana: Before you jump down my throat, I think Montana is a beautiful state having been dragged to Glacier National Park multiple times by my parents as a kid. But playing through four hours of snow in early October during the high school state golf championship? No thanks. Then again, I passed on playing on Sunday because the temperature at tee time was flirting with 50, so I’m not the best person to weigh in on this:

https://twitter.com/richard_ecke/status/1181693435557732352

The most amazing part is this group of tough teens shot a combined 240 shots better on the tournament day it snowed. Those kids are freaking warriors.

ON TAP

The PGA Tour begins its Asian Swing with the CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges, AKA that event with an @ sign in the official tournament title, and island green on the final hole, and a trophy that is anything but a cup despite the tournament name. This is an interesting one! And don’t forget about “The Challenge: Japan Skins,” GOLFTV’s new event featuring Tiger, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, and Hideki Matsuyama. If you live in the U.S., you can watch on Golf Channel on Sunday night. Skins! Back!

Random tournament fact: Brooks Koepka is the defending champ, but has higher odds (9/1) than favourite Justin Thomas (9/2). Do you hear that? That’s a slighted Brooks throwing around a little extra weight in the gym right now.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—The Masters will ever be called The Masters @ Augusta National: 1 MILLION-to-1 odds

—Rickie and Allison set their first dance to that song from his Rocket Mortgage ads: Even odds

—Rickie wore Pumas to his wedding: LOCK (Gotta stay on brand!)

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK

Rich Beem made a rare PGA Tour start in Houston and his 16-year-old son Michael caddied for him.

Tracy Wilcox

Tracy Wilcox

Beats going to school, huh? Beem told Golfweek he was giving Michael 5 per cent of whatever he made. After finishing T-55 and earning $17,400 that comes out to $870. Hopefully, pops rounded up to an even $1,000.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Eddie Pepperell continues to be an absolute delight. Here, he eats and reviews an entire meal in Italy while also getting drunk. Love it.

Part time golfer, full time food expert ?@PepperellEddie reviewing Italian food, as funny as you'd expect.#ItalianOpen #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/opUnnrEBHV

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 9, 2019

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (ON-COURSE DIVISION)

Tyrell Hatton was interrupted during the Italian Open by his fiancé slamming a port-o-potty door. You can’t make it up:

Amazing scenes ??@TyrrellHatton's fiancée slams a toilet door in his backswing!#ItalianOpen #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/8vi8szTt3e

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 11, 2019

“You put me off! You should be ashamed!” So good. As was Hatton’s approach shot moments later. Oh, and his response to it all on Twitter later.

#weddingsoff #toiletgate ??? https://t.co/2hDT7zATUZ

— Tyrrell Hatton (@TyrrellHatton) October 11, 2019

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Not everybody’s going to be a Jordan Spieth or Rickie Fowler or the top in the world,” Griffin said. “Some of us, it takes us until [ages] 28, 29 to get on tour. George McNeill, I talked to him last week, and he was 30 [when he made the PGA Tour], and he’s played for 14 years. So, hearing stories like that, that’s more who I am. There’s nothing wrong with that at all. Life’s still great, and I’m not going to change. This win’s not going to change me, I can promise you that. I’ll be the same person.” —Lanto Griffin is an easy guy to root for.

THIS WEEK IN CELEBRITY GOLFERS

The Washington Wizards took a team-bonding trip to Topgolf ahead of the NBA season—and the results were pretty solid!

? IMPORTANT THREAD ?

We’re at @Topgolf today for team bonding!

Rate the swings, starting with Coach Brooks! pic.twitter.com/BarQMksaKg

— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) October 14, 2019

Well, not counting whiffs by Rui Hachimura and Moe Wagner. Guys, stop working on your free throws and work on your swings.

THIS WEEK IN PGA TOUR PROS-WAGS PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION

It was quite a week for PGA Tour WAGs. In addition to Allison Stokke tying the knot with Rickie Fowler, Lanto Griffin called his girlfriend, Maya Brown, his good luck charm.

Icon Sportswire

Aww. Meanwhile, Maverick McNealy credited girlfriend and LPGA star Danielle Kang for the best round of his young PGA Tour career after she gave him a “talking to”.” And finally, Pat Perez’s wife, Ashley, became a news source by confirming why her husband was a late WD at the Houston Open.

And some people question why I keep close tabs on these lovely ladies. SMH.

THIS WEEK IN PHIL BEING PHIL

There’s a chance that Mickelson will have a historic streak snapped this week. The 49-year-old has been inside the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking for nearly 26 years! The last time Phil wasn’t ranked in the top 50, “Mrs Doubtfire” (Great movie, RIP Robin Williams) was No. 1 at the box office. Not that he seems too concerned about it. Here he is practising Kevin Na’s signature walk-in putt move—in front of Kevin Na:

Playing with Kevin Na who just won in Vegas. Now playing a practice round with him in his native country Korea and he’s rubbing off on me. pic.twitter.com/6lAEEgYLdM

— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) October 15, 2019

If Mickelson ever won a Masters like that, he would break the Internet.

THIS AND THAT

Tiger Woods is writing his memoir, Back, with HarperCollins Publishers. I would have gone with GOAT as the title, but that works, too. And at least he’s not naming it “Cardi B.”. . . Henrik Stenson and Annika Sorenstam announced a joint European Tour-LET event where men and women are playing for the same prize. Sounds great. Even better would be if Stenson turns that old 3-wood into the trophy. . . . South African-born Rory Sabbatini is eying a spot on the European Ryder Cup after changing his citizenship to Slovakia earlier this year. Two Rorys on one team might be a bit confusing, just saying. . . . And finally, it’s a bittersweet day because SiriusXM’s Channel 30 is switching from my favourite station, DMB Radio, back to my other favourite station, Billy Joel Radio—something that seems to happen every couple months:

Little did I realize when I heard “Say Goodbye” on Monday night that I was actually saying goodbye. I’ll miss you, Dave.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Why can’t SiriusXM offer both channels at the same time?

Is Tiger Woods a big semicolon guy?

Does Tiger need help writing? Editing? Picking out photos? Anything?

The post Rickie Fowler’s beach wedding, Cardi B’s Tiger Woods reversal, and a big week for WAGs appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

We know all this because Fowler finally shared some photos from last week’s nuptials. The five-time PGA Tour winner wore a blue suit and what appeared to be white Pumas with a white T-shirt. Hey, beach weddings are supposed to be more a casual. Meanwhile, Allison, the famed pole vaulter and fitness model, wore a white dress. Boring. Kidding. Have a look:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3fBm4SJDMW/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=dlfix

As you can see, Fowler shed the sneaks for the walk on the sand. Smart. Gotta keep those puppies fresh.

We also know Marcy Blum planned the wedding. Blum also planned weddings for NBA stars LeBron James and Andre Iguodala.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3fE-tjnoec/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=dlfix

Stokke shared a few photos on Instagram as well, seemingly tagging Justin Bieber’s manager and stylist, Ryan Good, as the officiant:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3fBmdvARtu/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=dlfix

Kudos to the beautiful bride for being able to wait nearly an entire week to post the pics. That takes some serious discipline. Also, nice job getting your guests to keep the festivities on the down-low as well.

But seriously, congrats to Rickie and Allison. Here’s to a lifetime of happiness—and fitness. Oh yeah, here’s to photos from the reception surfacing as well.

The post Rickie Fowler shares first photos from his wedding to Allison Stokke, possibly wore Pumas to ceremony appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Ryan Herrington
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France—The photo two years ago at Hazeltine National became an instant classic. In the wake of the first U.S. Ryder Cup triumph in eight years, the victorious American team posed for numerous celebratory photos, including one where everybody kissed their wives and spouses. It was a slightly awkward moment for Rickie Fowler, who was without either, but handled the moment brilliantly.

This time around, however, Fowler isn’t alone. In attendance this week is Allison Stokke, Fowler’s fiancee, and having her along has made the time special.

Richard Heathcote

“I mean, it was great being over and being able to be a part of these team events and just be on my own and get to see them and be a part of them, but yeah, it’s a lot better having someone you actually get to share it with and not go back to your room and just be by yourself,” he said during his press conference on Wednesday. “You get to hear about the day and what the girls did, and I can talk to Allison and tell her what’s going on, what we did at the course, or whatever.”

And should the Americans be victorious again at Le Golf National, Fowler is looking forward to a mulligan from Hazeltine.

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WATCH NOW: RICKIE FOWLER GETS ENGAGED TO ALLISON STOKKE

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“We’re having a blast. It would be nice if we can be successful this week and relive that picture and I’ll actually have someone to kiss,” Fowler joked. “We can make fun of Bryson on this one or something.”

Yep, DeChambeau is the lone American player who’s going stag this week in Paris.

DeChambeau will gladly take the loneliness come Sunday … so long as it means the Americans have claimed the Cup.

Richard Heathcote

The post Ryder Cup 2018: Rickie Fowler has somebody to kiss at this year’s Ryder Cup, and he’s pretty pumped appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Rickie Fowler’s pursuit of a first major championship will continue next week at the U.S. Open. For now, he’s content celebrating one of life’s major milestones.

The World’s seventh-ranked golfer proposed to girlfriend Allison Stokke on Friday, and sorry, ladies, but she said yes. After all, it’s Rickie Fowler. And has a beach proposal ever not worked?

https://www.instagram.com/p/BjyK4CPAfux/?utm_source=ig_embed

Well done, Rickie. Both for the location and springing for a rock the size of a golf ball:

Talk about making use of a work trip to the Hamptons. Earlier in the day, Justin Thomas — a likely candidate for the role of proposal photographer — shared this photo of the three hanging out on the beach:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bjxw-GAAwqo/?utm_source=ig_embed

Fowler will be one of the favourites to win the U.S. Open when he tees it up on Thursday at Shinnecock Hills. He will play the first two rounds with Hideki Matsuyama and Marc Leishman.

The four-time PGA Tour winner and Stokke, a professional pole vaulter and model, were first seen in public together last April at a motocross race. Stokke shared the news on Instagram as well.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BjyK3lcAECp/?utm_source=ig_embed

Congrats to the happy couple.

The post Rickie Fowler proposes to Allison Stokke on a beach (Spoiler alert: She said yes) appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.