Rickie Fowler ties for second at the Truist Championship and the comeback talk returns

OutKick's Jonathan Hutton & Chad Withrow discuss why LIV players should be allowed back on the PGA Tour.

Rickie Fowler didn’t win the Truist Championship, but he didn’t need to hoist the trophy for the week to feel like something more than just a four-day heater.

By posting a top-5 finish at Quail Hollow, Fowler gave golf fans a reason to ask the question yet again: is Rickie Fowler officially back?

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The answer depends on what "back" means. If it means the guy who climbed to No. 4 in the world and spent an entire major championship season knocking on the door, maybe not yet. But if it means one of the sport’s most beloved players is once again relevant in big events, building momentum and giving fans a real reason to believe, then Fowler is at least making the conversation interesting again.

The 37-year-old had an incredible amateur career that included spending 36 weeks as the top-ranked amateur in the world in 2007 and 2008. He won the Ben Hogan Award in 2008 as the best college golfer in the country as a star at Oklahoma State.

Rickie Fowler put himself in contention at the 2026 Truist Championship at Quail Hollow Country Club with a 65 in the final round. (Eston Parker/ISI Photos)

And almost immediately after turning pro, Fowler became something more than just another highly touted young player. Between the Oklahoma State orange, the flat brim, the motocross background and the way fans gravitated toward him, Fowler quickly became one of the most recognizable and most popular players on the PGA Tour.

It took him a few years to earn his first PGA Tour win, which he accomplished by beating Rory McIlroy and D.A. Points in a playoff to capture the 2012 Wells Fargo