NEWS FROM THE TOUR VANS
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The Odyssey O-Works Jailbird putter might have some magic qualities.
It was back in January when Rickie Fowler switched to the putter after seeing his caddie, Ricky Romano, using the same type of black-and-white striped mallet with a rectangular opening in the clubhead. Odyssey Tour rep Joe Toulon built Fowler an O-Works Jailbird with a slab of lead tape on the sole and a blacked-out Microhinge face insert.
Fowler was ranked No. 111 in the Official World Golf Ranking when he started using it, but he’s now up to No. 50 as of last week. He has eight top-20 finishes with the putter and ranks No. 35 in strokes gained putting, up from No. 161 last season. The dramatic improvement on the greens has him all the way up to No. 25 in the FedEx Cup standings, putting Fowler in prime position to earn his way into designated events for 2024.
A few months ago, Fowler was playing a money game with Wyndham Clark at Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Florida. Fowler didn’t miss inside of 10 feet during the match, so the performance caught Clark’s attention.
“When anyone’s putting that good, you’re typically like, ‘Let me take a look at that,’” Clark told Tour Validated. “We practiced afterward and I was putting with mine, and then I tried his a little bit and it felt really good.”
After Clark had a poor putting performance at the Players Championship, he was convinced it was time to put the O-Works into competitive play. Clark asked Toulon for Fowler’s exact build, including the longer SuperStroke Tour 3.0 grip and the 20-plus grams of lead tape on the sole. The only difference is Clark’s putter has 2.5 degrees of loft instead of Fowler’s 2.25 degrees.
Clark immediately reaped rewards from the switch. He had back-to-back top-10 finishes at the Valspar Championship and Corales Puntacana Championship before a third-place result with partner Beau Hossler in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. That set the stage for a breakthrough triumph in the Wells Fargo Championship two weeks ago. Clark was No. 3 in strokes gained putting for the week, gaining more than seven strokes on the field.
Clark is now up to No. 5 in the FedEx Cup standings, trailing only Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Max Homa and Tony Finau. It’s a far cry from last season, when Clark finished No. 72 in the season-long points race.
“Gotta give a shoutout to Rickie Fowler,” Clark said. “The head is pretty heavy, and you don’t feel like you can miss it offline. As far as short putts, it’s so dialed that you feel like you’re going to make it every time.”
Who will be next to try the O-Works? If that player has success, he will owe Fowler and Clark a debt of gratitude.
Sean Fairholm