Backspin: Fowler has time to learn much like Watney did

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NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. -- If there was anything good to come out of Sunday's 4-over 74 by Rickie Fowler it's that there will be other opportunities for the 22-year-old.

That was the prevailing message from the team -- his parents, manager, caddies, close friends -- that surrounded him Sunday night outside the clubhouse at Aronimink, where he began the day with a share of the lead and seemed poised to get his first career victory.

Instead, Fowler double bogeyed the second hole and never recovered.

"I just couldn't get anything going," a frustrated Fowler said afterward. "Just a tough day, but I learned a lot."

This wasn't the first time Fowler's been in this position. He held the 54-hole lead last year at Muirfield Village and shot a final-round 73 and lost to Justin Rose.

A few months prior to that, Fowler decided to lay up on the reachable par-5 15th hole at TPC Scottsdale in the final round. He went on to finish second.

And this year, Fowler ranks 129th in final-round scoring average at 71.82.

That's a worrisome trend, but it's also a learning process. Remember, this is just Fowler's second season on the PGA TOUR.

"It was great to be in that position," Fowler said. "You know, it's good to see what other guys do in the same situation and how they handle themselves."

Fowler will win, and maybe as soon as this year, but much like AT&T winner and FedExCup leader Nick Watney had to learn to get comfortable with the spotlight, Fowler will have to learn how to extract the positives from the negatives.

Judging by how he reacted Sunday after it was over, he will. And when he does, he'll win.

Stock up

Nick Watney:Nick Watney. After Sunday's performance, which I'll get into more in the Back Nine below, Watney not only tops the FedExCup standings he represents arguably the best American player in the land, at least at the moment. The win was Watney's second of the year and he's finished in the top 10 eight times, which ties for best on TOUR. FedExCup rank: 1 (5 last week). K.J. Choi: The runner-up at Aronimink was really Choi's first high finish since his victory at THE PLAYERS Championship, but he's been good all year and he'll be a factor in the weeks ahead. In his last eight starts, Choi has five top-10s. FedExCup rank: 2 (8 last week). Webb Simpson: In his last four starts, Simpson has finished in the top 15 each time, which includes Sunday's tie for eighth at the AT&T National. In all, Simpson has five top-10s in what's been a career year. All that's missing is a win. FedExCup rank: 10 (14 last week)

Stock down

Jim Furyk: The last time Furyk missed four consecutive cuts? 1995. That is until this year. Furyk shot 77-71 at Aronimink and it's clear that his equipment tinkering hasn't exactly worked out. Furyk has just two top-10s all year, the last of which came at Bay Hill. FedExCup rank: 75 (73 last week). Tommy Gainey: Outside of a tie for 17th in Hartford, the last two months haven't been great for Two Gloves. During that time, he's missed five cuts in seven starts, including at Aronimink, where he shot 72-73. Not exactly an upward trend after two straight third-place finishes. FedExCup rank: 39 (35 last week) Boo Weekley: When Weekley withdrew last week, it marked the second time he'd done so in his last 12 starts. In those dozen starts, he's missed the cut five times and didn't finish in the top 30 in any of the other five. And after pulling out with a rib injury last week, who knows when Weekley will be 100 percent. FedExCup rank: 142 (138 last week)

THE BACK NINE: 9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. Is Nick Watney the best American player right now? At 30 years old and with two wins this season he probably is. At one point at Aronimink, he played 18 holes in 59 strokes -- his back nine Saturday and front nine Sunday -- and in the final round seemed to make one clutch putt after another. "It's a very addictive feeling to be out there and under the gun, and to be able to hit good shots and putts is why I play, really," Watney said. If he keeps playing the way he did last week, he'll be in that spot a lot more often.

2. With all the demands on Erik Compton's time last week, you knew his chances of making the cut wouldn't be very good. He was flat-out exhausted. Of course Compton's whole life has been about overcoming obstacles and he'll have plenty of opportunities when he's on the TOUR full-time next season. I talked to one of the key figures in Compton's life, Michael Hanzman, a circuit court judge in Miami-Dade County who helped Compton out financially along the way, and he explained why he was one of the few believers in Compton after his second heart transplant. "Despite the odds I just know he has the inner-strength and character to do this," Hanzman told me. "He's the most awesome and inspiring guy I've ever met in my entire life."

3. Whether or not Steve Williams remains on Adam Scott's bag for the British Open depends on whether or not Tiger Woods is healthy enough to play the British Open. If he isn't, expect to see Williams and Scott together again. It's worked out pretty well so far -- Scott tied for third at the AT&T National after missing the cut at the U.S. Open -- and Scott will go to the British Open with a ton of confidence given how he's played last year and this.

4. Patrick Cantlay, the 19-year-old from UCLA who finished as the low amateur at the U.S. Open and set a course record at the Travelers Championship, ended his whirlwind of TOUR events at the AT&T National, where he again played well finishing in a tie for 20th at 3 under. Who knows how good Cantlay will be whenever he does decide to turn pro, but the fact that he grew up around TOUR players and fellow Southern Californians like John Merrick and John Mallinger and longtime instructor Jamie Mulligan has certainly had an impact. "I've learned a lot just by hanging out with them, listening to them talk and, you know, bugging them on the range, asking questions," Cantlay told me. That said, he says he's not even thinking about turning pro. "I like being in school, I like hanging out with my friends," he said. "I'm only 19, so, it's fun being a kid and being an amateur. Amateur golf is great. I haven't had that many years of doing it and I'd like to achieve a lot more."

5. Interesting side note from Watney: He used a new putter in his win at Aronimink. "In Hartford, I couldn't putt it in the ocean," said Watney, who had the Scotty Cameron prototype overnighted to Philadelphia. "It was fun to putt like that under pressure."

6. Fans in Philadelphia are pretty dedicated when it comes to their sports and that holds true for golf too. The turnout was again good at Aronimink and even though the AT&T National is headed back to Maryland next year, golf isn't dead in Philly. The U.S. Open will be held at Merion in 2013 and PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem said last week the TOUR is looking at ways to get back to the city of brotherly love. "The support and involvement has been fantastic," Finchem said. "We would definitely like to continue an involvement here in Philadelphia, and we're actively looking for ways to do that. This is a place where you don't want to be gone for very long. That's not good for the sport."

7. Good for Mike Weir. In what's been an injury-riddled season, Weir shot 71-70 the first two rounds at Aronimink to make the cut at the AT&T National. That ended a streak of 10 consecutive starts with the weekend off, and he did it on Canada Day. Weir went on to tie for 70th.

8. Speaking of streaks, Vijay Singh has another one going these days: Two. That's the number of consecutive majors he'll miss after having his run of 67 consecutive major championships come to an end with this year's U.S. Open. Singh withdrew from the AT&T National with a lower back injury and won't play in the British Open either.

9. Happy Fourth of July.

Forward Spin

TPC Deere Run obviously fits Steve Stricker's eye. He's won there each of the last two years and will be the favorite again at this week's John Deere Classic. Whoever wins there this year, expect them to go very, very low. Last year, for example, Paul Goydos opened with a 59 and finished at 24 under -- and he still didn't win. That's because Stricker finished at 26 under. One other thing to keep an eye on: The top finisher among the top 5 not otherwise eligible for the British Open will earn a trip to Royal St. George's.

This week's Kodak Challenge hole

TOURNAMENT: John Deere Classic HOLE: The par-5, 557-yard 17th at TPC Deere Run ABOUT THE HOLE: It's reachable in two for big hitters, but they will have to perfectly place a tee ball on this slight dogleg left to do it. The fairway is tight, tree-lined and canted in the landing area. The green is guarded in front by bunkers, some quite short of the green to throw off your perspective. The green is elevated slightly with Pinehurst No. 2-style bentgrass collection areas all around. Miss the green, and you will have a very tough up-and-down. Kodak Challenge standings