Butch Harmon makes bold Rickie Fowler prediction

Butch Harmon claimed Rickie Fowler still has his best years ahead of him – despite the crippling loss of form which has blighted recent seasons.

Fowler has begun working with Harmon again and appears to be reaping the rewards, finishing in the top ten twice in three starts this year.

He came agonisingly close to a win at the ZOZO Championship last week, losing out to Keegan Bradley.

It marks a stark contrast to the last two years, when the former world No.4 finished 134th and 133rd in the FedEx Cup rankings.

Discussing the 33-year-old’s return to form on SiriusXM PGA Tour radio, Harmon admitted Fowler hit “rock bottom”.

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“Everybody goes through periods,” he said.

“Even the great Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods went through periods where they go a whole year maybe only winning one time and things weren’t right.

“In Rickie’s case, he kind of hit rock bottom, and when you hit rock bottom – it’s much easier to work with someone when they’re on the way down because they’re still experimenting and trying stuff.

“When you get down to where Rickie was – he was a perennial top-ten in the world and he fell all the way below 150th in the world.

“He had to make some changes and he knew he had to make them. It was easy for me because I’d worked with him before to help him make those changes.

“There are really good things in Rickie Fowler’s future that we are going to see.”

Harmon was then asked whether Fowler could surpass his previous achievements – including the form which saw him win five times on tour.

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“Absolutely. There’s no doubt about it,” the legendary coach said.

“He won five times, he won the PLAYERS, he finished top-five in all four majors.

“I think there’s a lot more Rickie Fowler we can see. His mind’s in good shape, his body’s in good shape, we’ll get his nerves under control and things can only get better.

“Everybody is a Rickie Fowler fan. When Rickie Fowler plays good golf, the tour is in better condition I think.”