The official 2025 PGA Tour season is over, and golf fans are getting impatient. Turning toward next year’s rank predictions seems like the only viable choice. Early stats have rolled in, and many sit comfortably in the top 50. Not Rickie Fowler.

For much of the past decade, Fowler has been one of golf’s most popular icons. Fans flock to see him, but in recent times, his form has taken a nosedive. An analysis indicates he won’t crack the top 50 in OWGR by this year’s end, and will have to do something dramatically heroic early next season to qualify for the season’s first major.

A recent tweet from Nosferatu, noted for breaking down OWGR points and predicting ranks, shows Fowler right now sits at 83. He is not playing in any tournaments that will earn him OWGR points. So, there is a chance that the 36-year-old will fall further below by the time the next PGA Tour season starts. From there, it will be an uphill task to claw his way back to the top 50 and earn an invite to the Masters.

In November, Rickie Fowler revealed that he was suffering from a shoulder injury, which had forced him to take an extended break from competitive golf. It also impacted his form in the regular season. However, this hiatus couldn’t have come at a worse time.

He couldn’t compete in the PGA Tour’s fall stretch and elevate his position in the OWGR. And now, he is falling deep into the rabbit hole. The problem is, of course, compounded by the fact that players near him are teeing off in some tournaments and earning OWGR points to leapfrog him. This is a grim outlook for someone who was once likely to win the Green Jacket.

Between 2014 and 2018, Fowler was among the most consistent performers at Augusta. He finished runner-up in the 2018 iteration. Cut to seven years, it’s a totally different scenario. Fowler has only played three Masters since then. cracked into the top-20 only once (2019). His last PGA Tour win came at the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Surprisingly, there was still hope during the season. Fowler posted three top-10 finishes, including a T6 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship and a T7 at the BMW Championship. Apart from the Masters, Rickie Fowler didn’t qualify for the U.S. Open either and missed the cut at the PGA Championship. The only good major result was at The Open, where he registered a T14.

Fowler showed such flashes of brilliance occasionally that proved he was resilient enough to persevere. But then came his injury.  Hence, he sits far out of the top-50 cutoff criteria for 2025, which will close on December 31. The second cutoff (players who finish inside the top 50 the week before the Masters) will close on March 30, 2026.

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Can Rickie Fowler still make it to the Masters?

Rickie Fowler has to post several top finishes early next year to make any meaningful progress. Now recovering from injury, the six-time PGA Tour winner is set to make a comeback in January 2026 at The American Express, where he finished T21 this year.

Fowler was also not eligible to earn a sponsor invite to the Hero World Challenge,  the Tiger Woods-hosted event in the Bahamas. A large part of his year was reliant on the sponsor exemptions. It came with a lot of backlash as well, but if Fowler’s popularity earns him a few more exemptions before the Masters, and he could capitalize on them, only then is there a chance you might see him at ANGC.

In the most far-fetched scenario, Rickie Fowler can earn a special invitation to Augusta National. That’s a privilege rarely granted to established professionals, so it’s highly unlikely.

“This is a place you don’t want to miss. Sitting on the couch is one of the few events that you would watch as a fan and professional golfer, but it’s a lot better when you’re a part of it and actually playing,” said Rickie Fowler about the Masters once. He’ll be hoping he isn’t spending another Masters week on that couch again.