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Rickie Fowler must probably feel grateful for having Jordan Spieth in his group for the final round of the 2026 Cadillac Championship. Why? Because he got help when he least expected it, but the person helping him was not even his partner-in-crime on the fairway.

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Spieth’s caddie, Michael Greller, was keeping a close eye on the orange man when he got stuck on the 17th hole at Trump National Doral. Sitting 34 feet away from the green in the rough, Fowler needed a chip to escape the tall grass. During his setup, the 37-year-old thought he had moved his ball. However, just as he was about to get himself penalized, Greller intervened to clarify that he didn’t even have his club on the ground.

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Had Greller not gotten involved, officials would have penalized Fowler with a stroke. Currently placed at T11 on the leaderboard after finishing the round, the six-time PGA Tour champion would have instead ended up at T15.

It would have been quite critical for Fowler, who anticipates a major qualification. A top-10 finish would have certainly helped him achieve that. He is currently only qualified to play Signature events. But if he enters the top 50 in the world rankings, he will join the field at Aronimink Golf Club next week.

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Fowler certainly has a lot at stake at the Blue Monster. Hence, losing four places on the leaderboard wouldn’t have done him any favors. He must have thanked Greller for helping him out on the grass this Sunday. And if Fowler qualifies for the 2026 PGA Championship because of this, then he might owe Spieth’s caddie more than just words of appreciation.

This is not the first time Spieth and Fowler have crossed paths at Trump National Doral this week. They probably discussed the course before the tournament began, given how similar their responses were.

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Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth have the same feeling about the Blue Monster 

Trump National Doral has been a challenge for most of the golfers. We say most because Cameron Young has absolutely dominated it. But it intimidated Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth when they first saw it. At least that’s what they confessed a few days ago.

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During an interview, Fowler told the reporters, “It’s just not short. There’s a lot of water in play. The greens are big, but where the pins will be, they’re fairly sectioned off into smaller sections. You got to first drive the ball well and then have control from there.”

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Fowler has had trouble with his driving accuracy recently. With fairways surrounded by water and there being so many obstacles on the course, he has found it difficult to take too many risks. Spieth also held the same views.

Spieth echoed a similar sentiment to a Golf Channel reporter, saying, “It’s a long golf course. Premium on putting the ball in the fairway and obviously controlling it in the wind.”

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Both players were concerned about the length of the course. With the Blue Monster Course ranging at 7,739 yards, we can understand why they feel that way.

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Written by

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Molin Sheth

2,092 Articles

Molin Sheth is a senior Golf writer at EssentiallySports and a key member of the ES Golf Trends Desk. He brings strong editorial judgment and a data-driven approach to uncovering the game’s overlooked angles, delivering insightful play-by-play reporting across golf’s four major championships. As part of the EssentiallySports Journalistic Excellence Program, an in-house initiative that mentors and develops writers through expert guidance and rigorous training, Molin works closely with industry-leading mentors to bring clarity and depth to a sport where precision matters and every shot tells a story.

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Abhimanyu Gupta

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