Rickie Fowler explains the story behind his engagement to Allison Stokke

Rickie Fowler announced his engagement to now-fiancee Allison Stokke last Friday night on Instagram. When it came to explaining how he’d settled on the venue and timing? Fowler kept it light.

“I just really didn’t want to carry the ring around any longer,” he said, to laughs.

#https://instagram.com/p/BjyK4CPAfux/

There was slightly more to the story, of course. Fowler said he and Justin Thomas (who took the engagement photographs) arrived in New York last Wednesday to begin preparing for Shinnecock as well as playing several other courses in the area. One part of the scouting included selecting one of Long Island’s beaches for the proposal. “It worked out perfectly,” he said. “We kept things very, very casual. And like I said, I didn’t have anything planned out. Like I said, I didn’t want to have to keep toting that thing around for that long.”

Stokke joined Fowler during his round at Friar’s Head on Tuesday with a group that included Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady (“I’ll tell you what, Tom Brady can putt,” Fowler added). “My fiancee Allison was walking around, hanging out,” he said. “So we all had a good time.”

Fowler said he feels relaxed and up to the task of the U.S. Open after a relatively light schedule the last few weeks. He tees off at 8:13 a.m. Thursday, where he’ll try to add to an unforgettable week