Rickie Fowler Wore pin to Honor #1 Fan
Each day of the www.pgatour.com Rickie Fowler wore a pin (1.5″ Square Button) honoring one of his biggest fans, Griffin Connell. Connell passed away this January due to a rare airway disorder and he was only 7 years old. Connell braved many surgeries and was an inspiration to many because of his enthusiasm for life. Fowler met Connell in 2013 and they regularly exchanged texts and emails. “He was just a huge fan of the game,” Fowler said. “I claim him as being my No. 1 fan, so he had a special place with me and Joe (Skovron, Fowler’s caddie)”.
“We looked forward to seeing him and the family here at the tournament every year, so it’s unfortunate that we don’t have him here this week because he was fun to see.” The pin Fowler wore in honor of Connell meant a lot to many people and was created www.CustomButtons.com by Everyone Loves Buttons.
Monday, January 29th marked the first day of the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The first two days consisted of practice rounds for the PGA Tour Pros and Wednesday was the Annexus Pro-Am. Many celebrities including singers, actors and athletes showed up to play at the Pro- am. Some favorites included Arizona Cardinals recently retired Head Coach Bruce Arians, six time All Pro Larry Fitzgerald, currently ranked fourth all-time in NFL history in receiving yards per game for a career, and Country Music star Dierks Bentley.
THE 16TH HOLE OF THE WASTE MANAGEMENT OPEN
The 16th hole is the place to be at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Here you can socialize while you cheer on your favorite PGA pros. However many players feel it has gotten crazy this year. Many PGA pros have become disappointed by the comments from people in the stands. Even Rickie Fowler didn’t like the atmosphere of the 16th hole. “I was a little disappointed at some of the stuff that was said. I don’t want much negativity — the normal boos for missing a green, that’s fine, but leave the heckling to a minimum and make it fun.” Said Fowler. Fowler was runner-up to Hideki Matsuyama in 2016, and T4 last year.
Although Rickie Fowler didn’t win the tournament, we wish him well and will continue to cheer him on in the future for everything he has done to honor @GriffinConnell