Rickie Fowler walked Shinnecock Hills in neon pink, orange, and blue footwear, part of Puma’s limited-edition SHOWTIME Collection. It is a range built to celebrate this summer’s greatest moments across sport’s biggest arenas. Fowler, along with Gary Woodland and J.J. Spaun, will also wear the new shoes at the U.S. Open. These shoes did just what Puma had hoped for: they started a conversation.

Thick fog covered Shinnecock Hills during Round 1, making it hard to see and forcing officials to stop play early. The irony was nicely captured by Brendan Porath, head of content at Fried Egg Golf, who posted an image on X with a line that captured the morning cleanly.

“Rickie’s shoes are visible through the fog,” he noted.

Puma released the new collection across sports’ biggest moments this summer, releasing running shoes during marathon season, soccer boots ahead of the World Cup, basketball shoes around the NBA Playoffs, and golf shoes at the U.S. Open. 

“Golf has more creativity and attitude than ever before, and PUMA Golf believes bold self-expression is the most authentic way to build confidence and perform your best,” says Russ Kahn, president of COBRA PUMA Golf. “Sports’ most iconic moments happen when athletes have the confidence to put on a show. We want to inspire golfers at all levels to put on a show wherever they play, and the SHOWTIME Pack reflects PUMA’s commitment to being unapologetically bold.”

Fowler has used his wardrobe to make a statement. At Pinehurst in 2014, he wore white plus-fours with knee-high argyle socks to honor Payne Stewart. In 2016, he wore high-top golf shoes and jogger-style pants. He wore a full camouflage outfit at the 2025 WM Phoenix Open as part of a Puma x Realtree collaboration. Fowler also wore soccer-inspired polos at The Open in 2025, drawn from a Puma x Reigning Champ collection inspired directly by football kits. For Fowler, clothing is more than just a uniform. He signed with Puma in 2009, the year he turned pro.

Although golf’s fashion conversation has grown beyond one player.

Jason Day’s Malbon Golf partnership has divided opinion at tournaments from Augusta to Torrey Pines. At last week’s RBC Canadian Open, Wyndham Clark walked to “The Rink” par-3 14th at TPC Toronto wearing a Jack Hughes No. 86 Team USA Olympic hockey jersey he had bought off a fan in the crowd.

The SHOWTIME shoes are built on the Ignite Elevate 2 model, and when images of Fowler’s new footwear were posted on social media, comments did not take long to arrive.

Rickie Fowler’s neon Puma shoes split fan opinion at the 2026 U.S. Open.

“Absolutely terrible… All he will be able to focus on when he addresses the ball,” wrote a fan.

“What are we doing, man?” commented another.

“What a look,” wrote one fan with a laughing emoji.

One fan commented: “Those are crazy!”

“ARE THOSE THE CANDIES?” asked one golf fanatic.

Not everyone disliked the shoes, though. Some fans liked them.

“Honestly, they look good,” wrote a fan.

One golf fan called the shoes “phenomenal.”

“The Valley edition,” read one reply, a nod to Fowler’s Murrieta, California roots and the palette that comes with them.

On a day when fog covered most of Shinnecock Hills, and the leaderboard had barely begun to take shape, his shoes were among the first things anyone noticed. That tends to happen when you have spent 16 years making sure they do.