[ad_1]
Eric Cole waited greater than a decade to get his PGA Tour card after turning professional.
The wait paid off.
Cole, 35, was named the Tour’s 2022-23 Rookie of the Yr on Wednesday to win the Arnold Palmer Award. He’s the second-oldest winner of the Arnold Palmer Award within the Tour’s historical past (Todd Hamilton was 38 when he gained in 2004) and he beat out rising star Ludvig Aberg for the title.
The PGA Tour Participant of the Yr and PGA Tour Rookie of the Yr awards are decided by a member vote, with Tour members who performed in no less than 15 official FedExCup occasions throughout the 2022-23 season eligible to vote. Scottie Scheffler was voted Participant of the Yr.
“It’s an enormous honor to win Rookie of the Yr,” Cole mentioned. “It’s an award in golf the place you solely get one likelihood to win it, which is a little bit bit distinctive. To win that and be voted by my friends is fairly unbelievable, and it’s simply an enormous honor.”
Cole’s mom, Laura Baugh, was the LPGA Rookie of the Yr in 1973.
Following within the footsteps of his mom 👏
2023 @PGATOUR Rookie of the Yr Eric Cole’s mom, Laura Baugh, was the LPGA Tour Rookie of the Yr in 1973! https://t.co/PZzTgRc0uY pic.twitter.com/TEdUlyE0Cy
— LPGA (@LPGA) January 3, 2024
Cole had seven top-10 finishes final season, together with a runner-up on the Honda Traditional (now the Cognizant Traditional). There have been 28 rookies final season and he was the one one to complete within the high 50 of the FedEx Cup standings.
He completed within the high 5 in 4 of his ultimate 5 occasions in 2023, serving to safe his standing among the many up-and-comers on the PGA Tour and the title of Rookie of the Yr.
BY THE NUMBERS: Did the gamers get the vote proper?
During the last 12 months, Cole rose from 228th to twentieth within the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings however his yr did get off to a rocky begin. He missed his first 4 cuts, which included testing constructive for COVID-19 on the 2022 Fortinet Championship after which having his golf equipment stolen a pair weeks later on the Shriners Youngsters’s Open.
He ended up making 37 begins, although, along with his finest end coming on the Honda when he fell in a playoff in opposition to Chris Kirk. He tied for second on the Zozo Championship in Japan and completed T-3 on the season-ending RSM Traditional.
“It was a protracted yr,” Cole mentioned. “I bought plenty of feedback that I performed rather a lot, however I used to be simply so comfortable to be out on Tour lastly, and any likelihood I needed to compete on Tour simply felt like an enormous privilege.
“I didn’t get off to the most effective begin lacking some early cuts, however then form of bought it collectively a little bit bit and began to play actually persistently and fairly nicely there the final half of the yr and form of capped it off with a reasonably good fall, so it was superior.”
His final missed reduce got here in Could on the Charles Schwab Problem, making 15 straight cuts to finish the yr. He’s within the discipline on the season-opening The Sentry, enjoying within the first two rounds with Open champion Brian Harman and Camilo Villegas.
[ad_2]
Source link
