Ricky Fowler - Photo: DR

Heads were shaken. The jaws fell. The spirits trembled. And it fell to PGA Vice President of Rules and Competition Slugger White to explain that Fowler, who was heading for a certain victory, was penalized and had just made a strange triple bugy (7) on par -4, from 11.

"I hope I never have to go through this again", said Fowler at the end of the tournament, finally after finally signing his fifth title in front of his family on TPC Scottsdale!

On a course where he seemed cursed, Fowler broke the curse that nobody remembered, with two birdies on 15 and 17 to snatch a last lap (74) and beat Branden Grace (69) by two shots.

Justin Thomas, Fowler's friend and roommate for the week, was third with a 72 card

Ending almost two years without a win, Fowler moved up to 7th place in the FedExCup and qualified for the Sentry Champiament of Champions. He thus thwarted all the forecasts allowing him to impose himself on only one of his last six holes after having led as co-leader on 54 last.

When people remember this tournament, they will remember the madness of 11

"Almost everything that could go wrong has gone wrong"said Fowler.

Well, almost everything. His caddy, Joe Skovron, could have gone down the drain too.

The saga began when Fowler's approach to the 441-yard hole fell short. Too aggressive on the third shot, the ball crossed the rain-soaked green, slipped down the hill and ended up in the water.

"The ball looked like it was on the ice," he said.

If the ball had deflected slightly to the right, it would have landed in the sand, where it could have easily come up to save the bogey.

Fowler walked up the hill to look at the green. Then, as he says in one of his TV commercials, things got weird. As the rain intensified and Fowler turned his back, the ball that was at rest rolled down the hill and into the water.

After some discussion with White, it was determined that Fowler would be penalized one point for the ball that went into the water. He hadn't touched her, but she was in play.

"It's an interesting question", said Fowler about the rules of golf, which the governing bodies have tried to simplify and make more user-friendly. “We didn't do anything to make it happen and it's a penalty point. "

He fell again, landed his sixth shot on the green, and landed a 5-yard putt for 7, or what he later called "A very good triple".

Thanks to a birdie on the 13th, Fowler bogeyed on the 12th, and just like that he went from 5 strokes ahead to 1 behind in less than an hour.

Everything was moving away again.

With his mother and father, Lynn and Rod, and maternal grandparents, Jeanie and Taka, watching once again, this day was going to be the day Rickie exorcised the demons of his rival Hideki Matsuyama in 2016. That day , Fowler hit his drive over the 17th par-4 and into the water in regulation, and hit a 3 wood in the water on the same hole in the play-off.

He then found himself in tears, he had wanted to win in front of his father and grandfather so much.

He was also a finalist in the Hunter Mahan in 2010. Last year, Fowler had a chance to win yet again, but he did three bogey on the last four holes and finished T11.

All these narrowly missed victories? All this madness again? "It was amazing to see things ending the way they ended today"said Fowler's father Rod. “I think that made him even more special. "

This time, Fowler played to win instead of losing. He reached the green in two strokes in the 15th par-5, his second stroke of 218 meters crossing obstacles and leaving him an easy two-stroke birdie of 15 meters. He was facing Grace, who was beginning to fade.

Fowler saved the par to the right of the 16th green. He drove the green onto the 17th, the hole that had plagued him for years. Again, he only needed two putts for another birdie.

He was back at 17 under par, two shots in front of Grace, who had done 17 while bogeying.

"It was amazing how well he hit those holes after everything that happened," said Aaron Baddeley, a friend who lives five minutes from the course and who had traveled with his wife and four of his five children to watch Fowler win. (Baddeley had done the same thing last year and back in 2016, only to end up offering condolences rather than congratulations.)

His friend Thomas said he sincerely believed in Fowler's victory, under such harsh conditions and with bad breaks, which would allow him to better prepare for future battles than if he had managed to win easily.

"It was madness," said Thomas about the events of the 11th hole.

The winner didn't dispute that, or the fact that everything ended up going well. He tossed the winning ball to his grandfather Taka, who caught it and rejoiced when his grandmother Jeanie captured the moment on her iPhone.

" Cheers "Fowler said, raising a glass of champagne when he met the media afterwards. " I finally succeeded. "