Austin Eckroat looked unbeatable early Sunday, and in the end, he was.
Eckroat, a 25-year-old Oklahoman, claimed his second PGA Tour victory of the year with a one-stroke triumph in the World Wide Technology Championship in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Eckroat reeled off 11 birdies in a 9-under 63 for a 24-under 264 total at El Cardonal at Diamante on the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula.
“That’s probably some of the best golf I’ve ever played,” said Eckroat, who earned $1.296 million from the $7.2 million purse, a PGA Tour exemption through 2026 and a spot in next year’s Masters and PGA Championship, among other perks. “Just from the start, making birdies. Putts were going in. It was automatic out there. It’s crazy that I only won by one shooting 9-under par today from one back. Obviously, everybody was playing well.”
Justin Lower eagled the par-5 18th hole to shoot 65 and share second place with Carson Young, who also closed with a 65, at 23-under. They were 54-hole co-leaders. Max Greyserman placed fourth at 22-under.
“It kind of validates the season that I had. It’s a great way to end the year. Really special.”
Austin Eckroat
Eckroat started strong at El Cardonal, making birdie on the first two holes. After a three-putt bogey at the par-4 third, he reeled off three consecutive birdies. Four birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn, at Nos. 8-12, accelerated his momentum. An up-and-down birdie from the native area right of the par-5 14th hole gave him a three-shot cushion that proved to be enough for the home stretch of holes. A chunked chip and bogey at the closing hole hardly mattered.
Eckroat, a second-year PGA Tour player from Edmond, Oklahoma, and the powerhouse Oklahoma State college program, has won before in this part of scenic northwestern Mexico. He won the 2019 Cabo Collegiate at nearby Querencia.
After breaking through in March for his first victory, in the Cognizant Classic at PGA National in Florida, Eckroat has emerged as a solid performer. He has cashed a lot of checks this year, with 21 made cuts in 26 starts, though the victory in Mexico was only his third top-10 of the year. He failed to make the Tour Championship, but has solidified his standing for the foreseeable future.
“It kind of validates the season that I had,” he said. “It’s a great way to end the year. Really special.”
And, now Eckroat has his sights set a bit higher.
“With the Ryder Cup being next year, it’s definitely at the top of the list,” he said.
Billy Andrade, 60, failed to qualify for the PGA Tour Champions’ season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship, so he competed in the WWTC on a sponsor exemption. The four-time tour winner missed the cut in his first PGA Tour start in a decade.
Dylan Brack, an 18-year-old amateur from California and a Monday qualifier, also missed the cut in his PGA Tour debut.
The WWTC, at the Tiger Woods-designed El Cardonal at Diamante, was the sixth of eight FedEx Cup Fall events. The tour plays its penultimate event of the year this week at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship before ending the year stateside with the RSM Classic at Sea Island Golf Club on St. Simons Island, Georgia.
Steve Harmon