Plauderecke » tarted to notice more of those often pesky drop shots coming

SPRINGFIELD, N.J. -- Rickie Fowler is short on majors, not on class.He returned to the 18th green at Baltusrol after an exhausting day because he wanted to congratulate the winner. He is friendly with Jimmy Walker and Jason Day, though there is a special connection with Walker. Both work with Butch Harmon. They were partners in all four matches in the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, and two matches in the Presidents Cup at South Korea. They were housemates at Royal Troon.Hes definitely one of my closest buddies on tour, Fowler said.Sunday afternoon, however, was as close as Fowler came to a major championship trophy this year.He was trending in a big way two years ago when he finished in the top five at all four majors, a feat previously achieved only by Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods until Jordan Spieth joined them last year. Even so, it appeared to be only a matter of time before Fowler broke through.That now seems like a long time ago.On a soft course at Baltusrol, in a major that produced five players who had all four rounds in the 60s, Fowler could only manage 70-71 in the last two rounds Sunday and tied for 33rd. That was his best finish of the year in the majors.The British Open two weeks earlier was the first cut in a major he made this year. He shot 76-73 on the weekend at Royal Troon. He never shot better than 75 at Oakmont. He opened with an 80 at Augusta National.Golf is hard, and so are the majors.One year, Fowler had top 5s in all the majors without winning a tournament. The next year, he won a career-best three times and didnt feature in any of the majors.There is no cause for alarm. He still is No. 7 in the world, and thats not a case of bad math. Fowler won in January at Abu Dhabi against the strongest field of the year on the European Tour. He lost the Phoenix Open in a playoff after leading by two shots with two to play. He had the 54-hole lead at Quail Hollow in early May and closed with a 74.Since then, his only top 10 was at Firestone, a World Golf Championship with a small field and no cut.Its been a little slow the last couple of months, Fowler said Monday at the TPC Boston to promote his title defense next month in the Deutsche Bank Championship. Just golfs hard. If it was easy, then everyone would be out here playing and I wouldnt have a job. So its just kind of fighting through it and continuing to put in the work, and it will turn back around here soon.The victory at the Deutsche Bank Championship last year, coupled with the victory in Abu Dhabi this year, put Fowler on the cusp of conversations involving the top players. He made people suggest a Big Four when there really were only three players battling for No. 1. And when Dustin Johnson won the U.S. Open to move into the elite in todays game, Fowler lingered as No. 5.Thats no longer the case. Golf is done with Big any numbers, and Fowler wouldnt be part of that conversation at the moment.Where the sluggish season has hurt him is in the Ryder Cup standings.Fowler has dropped all the way to No. 12, a precarious place to be for a couple of reasons. Only the top eight automatically qualify for the U.S. team, and Fowler is running out of time to make it. He chose to play in the Olympics, and hes leaving this week to be there for opening ceremonies in Rio de Janeiro on Friday.That means he wont be at the Travelers Championship, where the other three Olympians are playing -- Bubba Watson, Patrick Reed and Matt Kuchar. All of them are just outside the top eight, and just ahead of Fowler, in the Ryder Cup standings.Its another reminder how little golf guarantees. Fowler never imagined this being an issue six months ago.I took a little bit more time off through the first part of the season to prepare for the busy summer that was ahead, Fowler said. Unfortunately, I havent played as well as I would have liked to the past few months, which has kind of put me in a tough position.He was in reasonable shape at the halfway point in the last two majors, only to fade on the weekend. And as thrilled as he was for Walker winning a major, Fowler surely took notice that the 37-year-old Texan had been struggling over the previous 15 months.It can be frustrating that it wasnt him, or it can provide hope that his turn his coming.Either way, hes running out of time.The cutoff for Ryder Cup qualifying is after The Barclays at the end of the month. Davis Love III will get four captains picks, though Fowler doesnt have form on his side, particularly if someone else emerges during the FedEx Cup playoffs. No guarantees in golf.The next trophy in his sight is a gold medal from the Olympics, which he grew up watching. Fowler said he was never going to run fast enough or jump high enough to be an Olympian, so this was a pleasant surprise to have golf return to the Olympics for the first time since 1904.There are no Ryder Cup points in Rio, though a gold medal would surely go a long way toward another competition at Hazeltine that is all about flag. No one wants to miss that one. Tremaine Edmunds Bills Jersey . Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, announced Wednesday that the team would assign Swedish forward Elias Lindholm to his nations team for the upcoming tournament. Andre Roberts Youth Jersey . -- Kyrie Irvings last-minute 3-pointer helped seal another victory for Cleveland -- and the Cavaliers longest winning streak since LeBron James left. http://www.shoptheofficialbills.com/Elite-Jordan-Poyer-Bills-Jersey/ . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. Josh Allen Youth Jersey .Y. - New Orleans forward Anthony Davis was chosen Friday to replace the injured Kobe Bryant in the NBA All-Star game that will be played in his home city. TreDavious White Womens Jersey . Vettel was 0.168 seconds faster than Red Bull teammate Mark Webber around the Suzuka circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said. LONDON -- Novak Djokovic tried drop shots. He tried volleys. He tried just about everything he could think of. None of it worked. The 2011 Wimbledon champion had no answers for Andy Murray on Sunday, and lost 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 on Centre Court at the All England Club. "I mean, he was getting some incredible shots on the stretch and running down the drop shots. He was all over the court," said the top-ranked and top-seeded Djokovic, a six-time Grand Slam champion playing in his 11th major final and trying to win his second of the year. "He played fantastic tennis, no question about it. He deserved to win." Although Djokovic struggled with his serve, he still managed to get up a break in the second and third sets. Both times, Murray broke back, and then broke again. Overall, Djokovic was 4 for 13 on break points, while the second-seeded Murray finished 7 for 17. "The bottom line is that he was a better player in decisive moments," Djokovic said. "Both second and third sets, I was 4-2 up and dropped the serve in those games and just allowed him to come back for no reason." Both Djokovic and Murray play defensive tennis, almost mirroring each other with their get-to-every-ball style of play. But Djokovic, a Serb who has been the best player in the world for the last two years, tried to do something to mix it up on Sunday, to make Murray uncomfortable at his home Grand Slam. His efforts paid off for only brieef moments.dddddddddddd "He stands behind the baseline, and when he defends he goes far away. So I try to be aggressive and kind of use the whole court," Djokovic said. "But the volleys and drop shots didnt serve me well. He was getting all of them, basically." Murray started to notice more of those often pesky drop shots coming his way in the third set. "He didnt do it that much I didnt think the first couple of sets. It was working and he was hitting them well, and that was probably why he continued to do it," said Murray, the first British man to win the Wimbledon title since Fred Perry in 1936. "Its a way of shortening points. And when you hit them as well as that, your opponents running and youre just standing there really, so it worked well for him." Djokovic took over the No. 1 ranking two years ago just by making the Wimbledon final. Once there, he beat Rafael Nadal, dropped to the ground and actually ate a blade or two of the Wimbledon grass. He said then that he wanted to see how it tastes. This year, he leaves tasting defeat. "Its a very high level of tennis that we competed at today. I knew I had to be on top of my game in order to prevail in this match," Djokovic said. "I wasnt patient enough in the moments when I should have been, when I should have looked for the better opportunity to attack, and my serve wasnt as good as it was the whole tournament." ' ' '