After an uncommon run on the PGA Tour, rookie Eric Cole came close to winning the Honda in the playoffs in his 15th PGA TOUR event. Kirk left with the trophy, but much of the day belonged to Cole.

Kirk ©PGA Tour

Chris Kirk had waited what felt like an eternity to win again on the PGA Tour, having not won a trophy in nearly eight years. It's been 2 days. His main opponent Sunday at the Honda Classic at PGA National was a confident 836-year-old PGA TOUR rookie who nearly missed out on the TOUR, his lifelong dream.

On one of the most demanding golf courses on the calendar, one of the two was destined to walk away with a trophy on an action-packed final day, even if both had to put in extra holes, which they did. Kirk and Eric Cole had a great fight in the last group.

In the end, it was the experienced Kirk who came out on top after nearly giving up the tournament to Cole when Kirk hit his short approach into a rock wall that faces the edge of the green on the 72nd hole.
Fortunately, Kirk had another chance. He has the experience of using them wisely.

Sunday's win holds special significance as Kirk won after choosing to live a life of sobriety nearly four years ago. He never wanted to show off when talking about his journey, but he also knows that when he does great things, his accomplishments can inspire many who have endured the depths he has known.

The 34-year-old PGA Tour rookie, making his 15th start on the tour, lost to Chris Kirk at the Honda Classic – his hometown tournament – ​​on the first playoff hole. Cole had a 3-yard birdie putt that would have extended the playoff, but he missed. But considering everything the Delray Beach resident has been through, he dreamed of a week like this.

Cole was impressive, and even when his swing slackened early in the round, he fought, he scrambled, and he stayed in the corner. You can't be a rookie on the circuit in your mid-thirties without having those traits that belong in a fighter.

Eric Cole ©PGA Tour

Cole started the day two shots behind Kirk, and didn't know what to expect when trying to perform on such a big stage for the first time. He responded admirably, scoring 67. When Kirk bogeyed the small 13th hole and Cole, who had a glowing putter, birdied his fourth of the round, Cole suddenly took the lead.

“If you had given me a chance to win the tournament in a playoff on Wednesday night, I think I would have taken it, obviously”, Cole said Sunday night at the PGA National. «It is generally positive. There are a lot of things I can learn from this.”

Cole is the son of PGA Tour and British Amateur winner Bobby Cole and former LPGA professional Laura Baugh, who won the 1971 US Women's Amateur at the age of 16.

Eric Cole has always wanted to be like his parents, even though sometimes he wasn't sure he could match their level of competition. And although he played with both of them from an early age, he took a special interest in his mother's game.

“I spent a little more time playing with her growing up” Cole said after the second round of the Honda Classic. «But they both helped me a lot. Like at a younger age, as a junior, I played more with my mom and we hit similar distances. It's kind of like I learned a little bit more from her because of that."

Cole continued to play at Nova Southeastern University. However, during his freshman year in 2006, he mysteriously started losing weight and received a heartbreaking diagnosis: he had type 1 diabetes and Addison's disease.

Cole lost 120 pounds, but still won the Sunshine State Conference's top freshman award.

He left college in 2008 to play on the Minor League Golf Tour in South Florida and became a mini-tour legend, racking up 50 professional wins. But he never lost sight of the idea of ​​playing at the highest level.

Cole ended up riding a few Korn Ferry Tour Monday qualifiers to earn his status for the 2020-21 season, earning him full status for the 2022 KFT season. With a T-3 at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship 22, he finally earned his PGA Tour card.

"It's a long road" Cole said. «Even before the Korn Ferry Tour, I played a lot of tournaments all over the place. But yeah, it's one of those things where if you play good golf, it sorts itself out."

Cole missed his first four cuts to start his rookie campaign, but then made five in a row and recorded a T-15 at Pebble Beach, his last start before the Honda Classic, where he nearly added his name to an illustrious list of father-son duos to win on the Tour.

"I was talking to [Cole], being a rookie on the tour and looking as young as he is, I assumed he was 24 like every other rookie on the tour," said Kirk after the last round. «In fact, he's 34 and he's had quite a journey, it seems, to get to this level. I think it will stay in place for a while. He has a very good game. I was impressed with the way he hit the ball.

The turnaround will be quick for Cole. He received a sponsor exemption for the upcoming Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill – a place he knows well.

His mother remarried a man who was a member of Bay Hill, and in the early 2000s she caddyed Cole in a club championship held there where Cole won a large victoire.

Cole is also best friends with Sam Saunders, Arnold Palmer's grandson. Cole coached Saunders until 2020 when he was granted Korn Ferry Tour membership.

If Cole can avenge his loss at the Honda Classic quickly, Arnie's Place would be the perfect setting for his first Tour win.

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