[PHOTO: Ben Jared]

It’s been more than two months since golf fans have seen Rickie Fowler on the course, but the six-time PGA Tour winner has been busy.

As anyone who has ever had a baby knows, those first couple months are a battle. And it only gets tougher when you already have a kid. So in a way, missing the FedEx Cup Playoffs worked out for this now two-time father, who in August welcomed a second child into the world with his wife, Allison.

“It’s nearly three months now,” Fowler said on Tuesday ahead of this week’s Sanderson Farms Championship, where he’ll make his return to competition. “I’ve definitely enjoyed time at home, getting into much more of a routine there, which is something that we rarely get to do, not being at home for extended periods of timing, so I have enjoyed that with the new addition and just being much more of a dad and being home.”

That extra time at home also allowed him to make a big improvement in one area. It just isn’t on the course, but rather, in the kitchen.

“I feel like the cooking game went to another level,” Fowler said. “I felt like I was decent before, but my wife and I used to cook a lot together, and having a little one that she kind of had to be on duty at all times with, that put a lot more of the cooking duties on me.”

Fowler later expanded on his cooking prowess – and it sounds like he’s pretty versatile when wearing an apron.

“Luckily I can kind of do a little bit of everything,” Fowler said. “I did a few good briskets. Those are always fun because it’s a bit more of a time commitment, starting them anywhere from 10 at night to midnight. So those are always fun. We usually had some more people over. Nothing too big, five or six people. But that’s fun because it’s a bit more of a meal you can share and have fun with other people.

“It wasn’t just the brisket. Allison would put in and do some stuff, but we’d have sausage to corn bread to coleslaw. We had to make sure it was a proper meal. Those were probably some of the more fun or memorable outside of the, shoot, we need to throw something together, put some mac and cheese in and we’ll figure out the rest.”

Brisket? Corn bread? Mac and cheese? Mmm, sounds good, Rick. But you better keep that on the down low or every player is going to want to come over to where you’re staying in Mississippi this week.