Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas are ready for the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.
The major tournament will begin Thursday, and Fowler said he was “looking forward” to playing at the legendary course, even though he has only competed there a handful of times.
“To me I look at Pebble as not necessarily a place that the more you play it you have an advantage, necessarily,” Fowler told reporters Monday. “It's a pretty straightforward golf course. There's only a couple of tee shots that are somewhat blind that you need to just make sure that you're comfortable on lines. It's pretty much right in front of you. Very small greens.
“So, I love that about it. It's not very tricky. You hit it in a lot of the middle of the greens here, and you're going to be in a good position. … But how could you not like this place and get good vibes, especially the last couple of days with the weather we've had and just makes you feel good. It's a beautiful place.”
Fowler, 30, has won five times on the PGA Tour but he has never come out on top in a major championship.
“Obviously there's a lot of great players that haven't won a major,” Fowler said. “It's not necessarily something I think about or worry about. I know that when the time is right, it's going to happen.
“If I don't win a major, that's not going to necessarily define me. Do I want to win a major? Yes. I would love to and then knock off some more after that. But it's not going to define who I am.”
Rickie Fowler press conference https://t.co/gXF6vgjOIW
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 10, 2019
Thomas, meanwhile, will be coming off a 20th place finish at the Canadian Open last week.
“My game right now, it's pretty good. It's obviously not exactly where I'd like it to be,” Thomas said. “I felt like last week … we did better. I rolled the ball great last week, I just didn't make anything.”
Thomas, who won the PGA Championship in 2017, will be looking for his second major title.
“I really do love U.S. Opens, I love the test, the grind,” Thomas said. “They just have a different feel to them, like all the majors do. And I'm excited to go out there and check it out because when you get weather like this at Pebble Beach, it's got to be one of the most beautiful places in the world. It's going to be a fun week.”