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Plus: Eckroat wins maiden title
Good morning. Cognizant Classic, with a Monday finish due to inclement weather, saw a first time tour winner - 25-year-old Austin Eckroat. Check out what each player won and what’s in the winner’s bag!
And, our top pick for the bet on underdog, Min Woo Lee, finished with a T-2.
Fun Fact: Rickie Fowler wears orange on Sundays - historically the day of the fourth and final round of golf tournaments. This is a gesture in the honor of Oklahoma State University, where he played collegiately in 2007 and 2008. The Cowboys, who have won 11 men's national titles in golf, have an orange and black color scheme.
⛳ This day in history: The great Mickey Wright got her first LPGA Tour victory on this date in 1956. Her career total of 82 started for the San Diegan when she won the Jacksonville Open at Jacksonville Country Club, shooting 294 to beat Joyce Ziske by one stroke and win the $900 first-place money.
NEXT ON THE TEE
Tournaments This Week
PGA Tour: Arnold Palmer Invitational
📍 When and Where: March 7-10, Bay Hill Golf Course, Florida
💰 Purse: $20 million
🏌🏻 Headliners: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele
PGA Tour: Puerto Rico Open
📍 When and Where: March 7-10, Grand Reserve GC, Puerto Rico
💰 Purse: $4 million
🏌🏻 Headliners: Jason Dufner, Jimmy Walker, Nico Echavarria
LIV Golf: LIV Hong Kong
📍 When and Where: March 8-10, Hong Kong Golf Club, Sheung Shui
💰 Purse: $25 million
🏌🏻 Headliners: Jon Rahm, Joaquin Niemann, Bryson DeChambeau
DP World Tour: Jonsson Workwear Open
📍When and Where: March 7-10, Glendower GC, South Africa
💰 Purse: $1.5 million
🏌🏻 Headliners: Rikuya Hoshino, Jordan Gumberg, Darius Van Driel
LPGA Tour: Blue Bay LPGA
📍 When and Where: March 7-10, Jian Lake Blue Bay GC, China
💰 Purse: $2.2 million
🏌🏻 Headliners: Lilia Vu, Lydia Ko, Celine Boutier
ALBATROSS
Eckroat Wins Maiden PGA Tour Title
Photo: Getty Images | Source: PGA Tour
US Golfer Austin Eckroat held off the chasing pack to win his first PGA Tour title on a Monday finish at the rain-delayed Cognizant Classic.
🏆 4th First-Time Winner: Austin Eckroat added three birdies and a bogey to finish 17 under and seal victory on his 50th PGA Tour start.
He is the 4th first-time winner of the season after Nick Dunlap, Matthieu Pavon and Jake Knapp.
🚀 Van Rooyen's 63: Erik Van Rooyen carded a sensational 8-under 63 in the final round to finish T-2 alongside Min Woo Lee.
🚨 Record Alert: The tournament set a new standard for low scoring: Champion Austin Eckroat shot 17-under, the best by an event winner on the Champion Course, while a record 27 total golfers shot 10-under or better.
🚫 Stars Fail To Impress: Top-ranked golfers Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick finished T-21 while Tour veteran Rickie Fowler finished T-41 - a disappointing outing for the big names.
💰 WITB and Prize Money: Check out the equipment used by Austin Eckroat during his victorious campaign and the prize money breakdown.
Cognizant Classic Final Leaderboard
Click here to watch Round 4 highlights.
TWEET
Worth Mentioning
Regardless of the year, Augusta National's 12th hole remains a beauty. 😍
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest)
7:40 PM • Mar 3, 2024
EAGLE
Drake and LeBron James Invest In PGA Tour
Photo: Getty Images | Source: Golfweek
💸 Drake and LeBron James Invest In PGA Tour: The PGA Tour recently entered into a $3 billion partnership with the Strategic Sports Group (SSG) and it has been revealed that NBA superstar LeBron James and rapper Drake were part of a group of celebrities who personally invested in the new venture.
Other investors previously unidentified include: Chris Pratt (actor), Maverick Carter (James’s business partner), Rich Paul (James’s agent), Jeremy Zimmer (CEO of United Talent Agency) and Steve Stoute (founder of UnitedMasters).
🤯 Masters' $17K Fan Experience: A new hospitality offering named “Map and Flag” will debut at the Masters when the golf world returns to Augusta National.
The offering will provide a brand-new Masters experience to an unspecified number of fans for the price of $17,000 for the week - it will give fans access to premium food, drinks and merchandise options, including a “food hall,” a sports bar and an outside garden and merchandise shop.
LOCKER ROOM
What else is making news
PGA Championship: LIV Golf’s Joaquin Niemann has been granted a special invitation to play in this year’s PGA Championship - he has now qualified for three of this year’s four major championships including the Masters and The Open Championship.
Seminole Pro-Member: Mackenzie Hughes and Frank Edwards won the gross division of the prestigious Seminole Pro-Member while Erik van Rooyen and John Pinkham took the net division title.
Tiger Woods teamed up with PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh to finish tied for 44th in the gross division and tied for 33rd in the net division.
LIV Golf: LIV Golf’s Friday telecast partner, Caffeine TV, claims that 2 million golf fans tuned into their streaming site on the opening day. The first round broadcast on YouTube only drew 200,000 views.
Puerto Rico Open: The PGA Tour's Puerto Rico Open tees off on March 7 - take a look at the top storylines.
PGA Tour Champions: World Golf Hall of Fame members Fred Couples, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Colin Montgomerie will play at the Cologuard Classic from March 8-10.
Ben Hogan Award: Gary Woodland has been named the Golf Writers Association of America’s Ben Hogan Award winner following brain surgery last year to remove a lesion on his brain.
BIRDIE
50 States, 50 Golfers - Part 1
Photo: Getty Images | Source: jacksonville.com
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of The Players Championship, we pick the best native-born golfer from each state - here’s part one of our five-part series.
The ground rule: a player had to have been born in that state — even if he spent most of his life, including his professional life, in another state.
🏌️Alabama - Hubert Green: Green won two major championships (U.S. Open, 1977; PGA Championship, 1985) and 19 PGA Tour titles on his way to a spot in the World Golf Hall of Fame.
🏌️Alaska - Danny Edwards: Edwards won five times on the PGA Tour, good enough to represent his state.
🏌️Arizona - Billy Mayfair: Mayfair won five times on the PGA Tour and had top-five finishes in the Masters, US Open and the PGA Championship.
🏌️Arkansas - Paul Runyan: Runyan won two PGA Championships and in 1933 became one of only seven players to win nine or more PGA Tour victories in one season.
🏌️California - Tiger Woods: Woods edges out some Hall of Famers such as Phil Mickelson, Johnny Miller, Billy Casper and Ken Venturi, but it's really not a debate.
🏌️Colorado - Wyndham Clark: Clark moved past a relatively mediocre lot from the Mountain State with his US Open victory last year alongside his three PGA Tour wins.
🏌️Connecticut - Julius Boros: Boros trumps Doug Ford with three majors to two and with 22 top-10s in majors, to 12 for Ford.
🏌️Delaware - Ed Oliver: Oliver won eight PGA Tour titles and came second in the Masters, PGA Championship and US Open.
🏌️Florida - Brooks Koepka: Koepka trumps David Duval and Bubba Watson as the best native-born Floridian with his five Majors alongside four other PGA Tour titles, seven DP World Tour victories, three LIV Golf wins for a total of 19 professional titles.
🏌️Georgia - Bobby Jones: Jones won 13 professional titles besides being the co-founder of the Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters.
DRIVING RANGE
Hip Turn Drill For Power
In this video, we show you an advanced golf hip turn drill to get power in your swing. The hips are the power source in your swing, so you need to feel them while hitting the ball, not your arms.