CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- It was hard to miss all the shenanigans going on in the Bahamas when Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Smylie Kaufman let the public in on their "spring break'' last month via various social media outlets.
Turns out, there was a method to the madness that went beyond fun in the sun, at least as it pertains to Fowler.
"Having some time away just from the real world,'' said Fowler, who at 27 was the "old man'' of the group. "I mean, we were still playing golf over there, having a good time, but it's almost like a reset button. That's why I take two-week breaks -- is to get some time away to relax and reset.''
Perhaps it is just a coincidence that Fowler is playing well this week -- he is ranked fifth in the world, after all.
But he certainly is of the mindset that his time away is helping him now, as he grabbed the 54-hole lead at the Wells Fargo Championship on Saturday by shooting 4-under-par 68.
That matched the low round of the day. Fowler is a stroke ahead of Roberto Castro and two ahead of James Hahn, who also shot 68, and Justin Rose, a last-minute entry to the tournament who shot 69.
"There's a mix of kind of who you'd expect to be there, some top-10-in-the-world players and then some guys trying to maybe win for the first time or guys you wouldn't expect to be up there,'' Rose said. "It's all to play for tomorrow. The talent is so deep out here on tour that you can never underestimate anybody out there.''
Fowler is in position to win again at the place where he captured his first PGA Tour title four years ago. He will be looking for his fourth career PGA Tour victory.
But he's a far different player than he was then, with his career taking off a year ago when he captured the Players Championship in a playoff that saw him finish the last four holes in regulation in 5 under par and birdie the par-3 17th three times on that Sunday -- twice in the playoff.
"The biggest thing was just getting the monkey off my back and getting the first win on the PGA Tour,'' said Fowler, referring to his 2012 win at Quail Hollow Club in a playoff over Rory McIlroy and D.A. Points. "I was in contention, but I kind of just was able to hold on and get myself into the playoff. And obviously made some great swings ... when I needed to in the playoff there, which helped me when it came down to it.
"But the Players is still probably the biggest one for me as far as what it's done confidence-wise. If I didn't have the win here going into the Players, I wouldn't have been able to do that. So it's just been a process and building on top of each other.''
After the Players win, Fowler went on to capture the Scottish Open last summer, as well as the Deutsche Bank Championship in the FedEx Cup playoffs. Earlier this year, he captured the Abu Dhabi Championship on the European Tour moving to fourth in the world -- his highest ranking ever.
Since that victory, Fowler has posted four top-10 finishes, including a near miss at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, where he squandered an opportunity to win late on the back nine and lost in a playoff.
But he has not been on top of his game of late, with a missed cut at the Masters being a prime example. Fowler opened with an 80 at Augusta National and couldn't recover. He tied for 20th last week at the Zurich Classic.
"You try and play at a high level continuously throughout the year, it definitely wears on you and can become tough,'' said Fowler, who would get back to No. 4 in the world from fifth with a victory or solo-second finish. "If you can split it up a bit and get the times where you just go have fun with your friends, and obviously you see we had a great time ... I think it's been beneficial to me this time.''