“I had to go the bathroom pretty badly” - Rickie Fowler explains his ‘shaky’ double-bogey finish

Rickie Fowler was off to another hot start at the Rocket Mortgage Classic on Thursday when he ran into a bit of trouble. Much like what occurred at the end of the US Open when he faded from the top of the leaderboard, Fowler finished the round with two bogeys.

Unlike at the US Open, there's still time to recover and this poor finish may have actually had a reason. Fowler admitted that he was in desperate need of the restroom by that point.

He said:

"To be perfectly honest, I had to go the bathroom pretty badly. Luckily, I just got drug tested, so I went straight in. There weren't many bathrooms the last five holes, so I was a little shaky coming in — and not to necessarily blame the finish on that, but it didn't help."

Had he not had to go, he might have shot better and placed a little better after the conclusion of round one. Nevertheless, it was another overall good showing for Rickie Fowler, who is in resurgent form of late.

He's currently T9 after one, having shot five under. Peter Kuest tops the leaderboard with an eight-under showing, so Fowler really isn't all that far behind at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

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Rickie Fowler is in incredible form

Rickie Fowler was in danger of losing his PGA Tour membership card recently. That's as bad as it was for the star golfer, who was in need of something to turn things around.

Enter Butch Harmon, the legendary coach who helped him alter his swing just a bit. It appears to have paid incredible dividends. He's not winning every weekend, but he's in the conversation every time out.

He led the US Open after three rounds and once again, had an excellent showing at the first round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He said via Yahoo! Sports:

"I finished tied for sixth or so (at the Fortinet Championship) to start the year. That was kind of the first step in the right direction. Then was in the final group in Japan (at the Zozo Championship). So having the couple finishes in the fall that I did kind of gave me something to lean on and build off of. That was a start, and then to continue it once we got back going in January."

Rickie Fowler is in great form

Though he's focused mostly on his PGA Tour performance, he admitted that he is thinking about the potential Ryder Cup team:

"I am. I mean, I've kept up with or checked on points here or there, but at the end of the day. I mean, it's not like breaking down points to see. Oh, I need to finish this to move to a certain spot. Not having much or many points from last year on there doesn't exactly help me. Just keep doing what I'm doing, keep trying to play well and get some good finishes and we'll see where we end up."

If he continues playing as well as he has been, it'll be tough for the United States to leave Rickie Fowler off the roster.