Getty Austin Eckroat holds trophy after winning Cognizant Classic.
American golfer Austin Eckroat is a 25-year-old PGA Tour player. Eckroat had a solid rookie season in 2022-23 that saw him keep his PGA Tour card with a 74th place finish in the FedEx Cup. On March 4, Eckroat won the Cognizant Classic in a rare Monday finish for his first PGA Tour victory.
Eckroat was born in Edmond, Oklahoma on January 12, 1999. He turned professional in 2021 after earning a Korn Ferry Tour card through his standing on the first-ever PGA Tour University.
Your inaugural @PGATOURU top 5:
1. @johnnydpak
2. @DavisT17
3. @AustinEckroat
4. @kevingolfyu
5. @GarettReband
Eckroat finished 2nd at the Memorial Health Championship in July 2022 to gain a spot into the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. In the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship, he finished solo 2nd again to finish No. 3 on the Finals Points List and gain a PGA Tour card for the 2022-23 season.
Here’s everything you need to know about Eckroat’s life and career:
1. Eckroat’s Cognizant Classic Win Gives Him Ultimate Job Security
GettyEckroat celebrates his victory at PGA National.
A big challenge on the PGA Tour for young players is keeping their cards for the following season. With the PGA Tour’s return to a calendar-year schedule, players have less events to play well and avoid being delegated to the FedEx Cup Fall season.
Only 70 players qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs and guarantee their cards for the next season, meaning the rest must play in the Fall to finish in the top 125 and earn their cards for next season. That won’t be the case for Eckroat since he won a full-field event.
With Eckroat’s victory at PGA National in Palm Beach, Florida, he will automatically receive his PGA Tour card for both 2025 and 2026. He’ll also qualify for the Masters, PGA Championship, next year’s Sentry Tournament of Champions, and all of the remaining signature events in 2024.
He also takes home a nice check. He won $1.62 million with the victory. Eckroat had earned around $2.86 million in his first 49 starts on the PGA Tour, according to Golfweek.
2. He Was A Superstar At Oklahoma State
GettyEckroat plays a bunker shot during his college career.
Eckroat always wanted to be a Cowboy. He wore Swinging Pete logos to every tournament when he was growing up and had Oklahoma State football posters on his bedroom walls, according to NBC Sports’ Brentley Romine.
“He always wanted to go to Oklahoma State because that was the only school he knew,” Austin’s father, Steve Eckroat, told Romine. “As he got older, he realized that you have to be really good to play there, so it just worked out that he kept getting better and better.”
After winning a high school state championship as a freshman and matching the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship stroke-play scoring record, Eckroat went on to dominate at Oklahoma State. He was an All-American all four years as a Cowboy and was a part of the famous 2018 NCAA Championship team.
The 2018 Oklahoma State Men’s Golf Team continues to build on its legacy. Austin Eckroat, Viktor Hovland, Kristoffer Ventura, Zach Bauchou and Matthew Wolff. They swept Alabama 5-0 in the National Championship.
Sam Stevens was also on the team, but didn’t play in the final.
3. Eckroat Introduced Himself On The Biggest Stage At The 2023 U.S. Open
Eagles are out there. 🦅
@AustinEckroat is -6 so far in the final round. #USOpen
Regardless of what a player does throughout the regular PGA Tour events, it’s often the major championships that really bring someone into the spotlight. Even with Eckroat logging a runner-up at the Byron Nelson a month before, it was his T10 at the U.S. Open that grabbed more eyes.
Eckroat only made it into the U.S. Open through Final Qualifying in Dallas, and he made the most of his opportunity. After a solid first two rounds to make the cut, Eckroat struggled on Saturday with a 73.
His early tee time on Sunday turned into a special day. Eckroat made 4 birdies and 1 eagle on his way to a record-tying front-nine 29 at Los Angeles Country Club. He went on to shoot a 65 to finish in a tie for 10th for his first ever top 10 at a major championship.
4. Eckroat And His Wife, Sally, Have Known Each Other Since They Were Toddlers
GettyEckroat and his wife, Sally, celebrate Cognizant Classic victory.
Eckroat and Sally Merrill had the same babysitters when they were toddlers in Edmond, Oklahoma. She revealed that the first time Eckroat said he liked her was in recess in Kindergarten. The two remained close throughout grade school, even when Merrill attended a different school and her family moved to Oklahoma City.
They eventually sparked their romantic interests through social media and began dating in 2019 while Eckroat was playing golf at Oklahoma State. The two announced their engagement in 2021 and got married in November of 2022.
Sally made a deal for the Cognizant Classic. If Eckroat was in contention for the weekend, she would leave their home in Edmond and fly out to Palm Beach.
“After his Friday round he texted me, ‘Do you have a flight booked yet?’ ” Sally told Tom D’Angelo with the Palm Beach Post.
She was there in plenty of time for Eckroat’s memorable first win on the PGA Tour.
5. His Mentality On The Course Is Impressive
GettyEckroat focuses on a putt during Cognizant Classic.
Golf is often considered a mental sport just as much as a physical one. Many players have struggled with that aspect of the game in professional golf, including top players like Rory McIlroy. All it takes is one hole of losing your focus and your tournament is over, as McIlroy saw at the Cognizant Classic.
For Eckroat, it’s always been a strength. According to the PGA Tour’s Paul Hodowanic, Eckroat’s dad had an epiphany when 12-year-old Austin handled a situation with complete calmness at a tournament. He hit a ball in the water on the 16th hole and Steve, Austin’s dad, lost his composure a bit. Instead of also losing his cool, Austin sat down in the cart, pat his dad on the back, and told him, “it’s going to be okay, I got this.”
But it didn’t end there, as Eckroat’s calm composure has translated to each stage of his career. He showed it in his win during the final round. After a bogey on the back nine made his last few holes much tougher, Eckroat steadied himself and won easily. But that was no surprise to his college coach.