Rookie sensation Eric Cole embraces every opportunity to shine on the big stage

Editor's note: Eric Cole sits at T2 heading into the final round of the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, trailing leader Justin Suh by one shot.

It’s hard for Eric Cole to imagine taking a week off. Even now.

The 35-year-old TOUR rookie spent the better part of a decade trying to reach this stage. He’s played PGA TOUR Canada, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, the Korn Ferry Tour and countless mini-tour events.

All with the hope of someday playing on the PGA TOUR. So, while he finished in the top 50 of the FedExCup, providing him the first bit of security he has felt in 14 years as a professional, Cole hasn’t slowed down.

That included jumping on a cross-continental flight to Japan to make his third consecutive start at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, where he fired an opening round 5-under 65 on Thursday. He’s tied for second, one shot behind leader Collin Morikawa.

Unlike most inside the top 50 of the FedExCup, Cole has yet to take a week off this fall. He finished fourth at the Fortinet Championship, T35 at the Sanderson Farms Championship and T3 after a final-round 62 at the Shriners Children's Open. It was after that final round that he opened up about his schedule.

“I played a lot of years with not being able to play the PGA TOUR,” Cole said Sunday afternoon at TPC Summerlin. “So any chance I get to compete in a tournament, I'm really thankful for and am really happy to be out here playing. As long as I'm healthy and feeling good, I definitely like to play as much as I can.”

He leads the TOUR in rounds played. His first round at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, which included six birdies to one bogey, was his 119th round of the season. It is his 36th start of the 2022-23 season. He leads the TOUR in total birdies (512), rounds in the 60s (67), sub-par rounds (80) and par 3 performance (23-under). He hasn’t missed a cut since the Charles Schwab Challenge in May.

There is a break coming. He expects to take two weeks off after the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, before finishing his season at The RSM Classic. But there’s still plenty to play for. A win would lock up Cole’s long-term status on TOUR and would serve as one of the best stories of the season. Cole has yet to qualify for the Masters, which he could do by cracking the top 50 in the world rankings. He’s currently 53rd.

There is, of course, the monetary benefit. Cole has earned more than $800,000 in three events this fall. The most Cole collected in any of his 56 Minor League Golf Tour wins was $40,000. He made $4500 in eight KFT events in 2020. Cole’s earnings for this PGA TOUR season have now eclipsed $4 million.

There is also a Rookie of the Year award to chase. Cole admitted it has served as motivation. “You only get one chance to win that,” he said. “That would be a huge honor, and it's something that I would like to win."

He put his name on the map at the Honda Classic in February, where he finished second in a playoff with Chris Kirk. That’s when most first learned his story. About how Cole is the son of PGA TOUR and The Amateur Championship winner Bobby Cole and former LPGA pro Laura Baugh. Or how Cole played golf for Nova Southeastern University (a Division II university in Fort Lauderdale) and spent more than 10 years cleaning up on the mini-tour circuit. And even about how Cole injured his back and had doubts about whether he ever would get to golf’s biggest stage.

He’s interested in telling a new story. His season has done a good job of it so far. The Rookie of the Year award would be a fitting cap to Cole’s latest chapter. So, too, would a win this week at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP.

Through one round, as he has so often this year, he’s put himself in the mix.