PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Rickie Fowler’s mother and sister held reservations on a commercial flight from Jacksonville International to San Diego that was scheduled to leave Sunday night at the same time the Players Championship was supposed to end. They had lunch with Fowler, who began the day three strokes off the lead, before his 1:25 p.m. tee time.
Fowler played the first nine holes in even par and was losing ground to the leaders, who included Sergio García. So his mother, Lynne, and younger sister, Taylor, gathered their two Shih Tzus and headed to the airport, a 45-minute drive from TPC Sawgrass.