The in-form Fowler has finished in the top five at all four majors in 2014 - just the third man to do so in one calendar year - and the American continued to impress as he sits tied for 13th at the Ridgewood Country Club.
Fowler started on the 10th hole, and his front nine saw him go bogey free and post one birdie, before he mixed four birdies with two bogeys after the turn in New Jersey.
The 25-year-old was pleased, considering he felt he was not in his best condition for the opening round.
"Today the swing wasn't great, but I was able to kind of fight through it and make some good saves - make the turn, make some birdies," Fowler said.
"But unfortunately I had to throw a couple of bogeys in there, but I was able to finish it off nicely, and started swinging a little bit better in the end.
"I stayed patient, it's really how my whole year's been, staying patient, especially with the start I was off to this year, then getting ready for the majors."
Fowler was confident of holding his spot in the cut-throat FedEx Cup, which reduces field size throughout the four tournaments.
His position of 16th in the points list would currently qualify him for the Tour Championship, which sees the 30 highest-placed players play off for the grand prize.
Fowler said he did not want to peak before the season finale at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.
"You've got to pace yourself a little bit," he said.
"I mean, I'm in a good position to play decent and then I'll be at East Lake.
"Obviously that's where you want to end up to have a chance to win the FedEx Cup, but at the same time the better you can play through the first three, the better position you do put yourself in.
"So, it's a little bit of a balancing act - you don't want to come out too hot early, but a win at one of the first three could do a lot of good.
"So we'll see if I can get things going this week and make things a little bit easier on myself the next couple."