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This Photo of a Very Serious and Suited-Up Rickie Fowler Became an Instant Ryder Cup Classic

This pre-opening ceremony snapshot of Rickie Fowler is in the running for photo of the week.

Gabrielle Herzig

This Photo of a Very Serious and Suited-Up Rickie Fowler Became an Instant Ryder Cup Classic
This Photo of a Very Serious and Suited-Up Rickie Fowler Became an Instant Ryder Cup Classic /

Every time the Ryder Cup is played, it’s almost a given that the opening ceremony will deliver some of the best off-course content of the week. With Team USA and Team Europe dressed in sharp suits and sunglasses in front of a live audience, the opportunities for meme-able moments are plentiful—and of course, the highly anticipated pairings are announced for the opening session.

On Thursday however, the photo that emerged as an immediate standout was actually taken before the players walked onto the stage. Photographers captured the U.S. team sitting in what resembled a conference room before the ceremony, and one shot of Rickie Fowler started to make the rounds instantly. 

Wearing formal attire and black Oakley sunglasses, Fowler leaned over the table with two closed fists and an expression to match his ensemble. If this picture isn’t clear indication that the six-time PGA Tour winner is ready for a dogfight against the Europeans, we don’t know what is. 

Rickie Fowler of Team United States looks on ahead of walking on stage during the opening ceremony for the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf Club on September 28, 2023 in Rome, Italy.
Fowler will make his fifth Ryder Cup appearance this week at Marco Simone in Rome.  :: Luke Walker/Getty Images

All credit to Luke Walker of Getty Images for capturing the instant Ryder Cup classic, which of course began to make the rounds on social media. 

Here are all of our favorite reactions to the behind-the-scenes photo.

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Gabrielle Herzig
GABRIELLE HERZIG

Gabrielle Herzig is a Breaking and Trending News writer for Sports Illustrated Golf. Previously, she worked as a Golf Digest Contributing Editor, an NBC Sports Digital Editorial Intern, and a Production Runner for FOX Sports at the site of the 2018 U.S. Open. Gabrielle graduated as a Politics Major from Pomona College in Claremont, California, where she was a four-year member and senior-year captain of the Pomona-Pitzer women’s golf team. In her junior year, Gabrielle studied abroad in Scotland for three months, where she explored the Home of Golf by joining the Edinburgh University Golf Club.

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