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Rickie Fowler finishes second at Waste Management Phoenix Open

Oklahoma State alum drops a five-hole sudden death to Hideki Matsuyama.

By thomasflem97
Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma State alum Rickie Fowler was in pursuit of his fifth world-wide victory in nine months, but he fell short to Hideki Matsuyama in five holes of sudden death in the 2016 Waste Management Phoenix Open.

Fowler finished the first round at six-under-par, tied for the lead with Shane Lowry and Hideki Matsuyuma. Here are the first round highlights:

Fowler performed well on day two, ending Friday one back from then-leader James Hahn. Fowler didn't hesitate to keep the crowd involved en route to a three-under 68.

Fowler's third round performance was up and down, featuring three bogeys and four birdies on his one-under 71. Fowler went into Sunday three shots back from then-leader Danny Lee. The neon-clad Poke grad did claim the drive of the day with this bomb on the last hole, beating Brendan Steele's previous drive by one yard:

Golfing in his orange Puma kit, Fowler finished strong on the fourth round. This birdie on No. 10 was one of four through 15 holes:

Fowler set himself up for his fifth birdie with this shot on No. 16:

But missed a short putt and had to settle for par.

Fowler's lead became slimmer after his drive dribbled into the water on No. 17.

Following an improbable drive where the ball bounced off the 'church pews' bunker and landed in the fairway, Fowler set himself up for a birdie to answer Matsuyama's birdie and fourth round 67.

Fowler nailed this putt for birdie to regain a tie for first and head to sudden death:

In the playoff, Fowler started No. 18 with a tough shot:

But made up for it with a beautiful chip on the green:

Luckily for Fowler, Matsuyama's potential birdie fell short and they both headed to a second hole.

In the second hole, Fowler nailed a birdie from a couple of feet out, and Matsuyama made a similar putt to head to another sudden death.

Three holes later, Fowler hit it into the water and missed an easy putt for par to give the victory to Matsuyama. Matsuyama missed the first putt for birdie but made it for par, which beat Fowler's bogey. Fowler finished second in the 2016 Waste Management Open, right behind Matsuyama; regardless, Poke nation is proud of his emergence as one of the world's top golfers.

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