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'Overrated' Fowler opens with 3-under 69 at Players

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Days after an anonymous player poll labeled him overrated, Rickie Fowler responded by letting his clubs do the talking.

Fowler got off to a hot start at The Players Championship before carding a 3-under 69 to sit two shots behind Hideki Matsuyama.

It was a strong opener, but one that could have been even better. Fowler birdied six of his first 11 holes, including a 31-foot bomb on the par-3 17th, but he made double bogey on No. 3 and closed with a watery bogey on No.