Austin Eckroat continues strong summer by qualifying for Wyndham

Monday marked the final qualifier of the 2021 PGA TOUR season. The Wyndham Championship is the final event before the beginning of the FedExCup Playoffs.

Jacob Bergeron was medalist at Bermuda Run Country Club on Monday after posting a 9-under 62. Austin Eckroat, who turned pro after playing in this year’s Walker Cup, finished two strokes behind Bergeron after a round that included two eagles. He made two eagles, four birdies, and a bogey on his way to a 7-under round.

“Both 6 and 17 are gettable, but still I hit two of the best long irons I’ve hit in awhile. Hit a 4-iron on 6 to about 8 feet, and a 5-iron to about 6 feet on 17. Both were about 235 out,” Eckroat said. “I really wanted to play in the Wyndham Championship, one reason being I have a very legitimate chance at getting to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. I was hoping for a sponsor exemption given I had a good chance. But when I teed up on Monday, I knew my only chance to achieve that was to play well today. It was really easy to stay focused when I had that running through my mind."

Eckroat currently has 54 non-member FedExCup points. If he can earn an amount equal to or greater than the number of points earned by No. 200 in the FedExCup standings, he will qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. Aaron Baddeley currently sits 200th in the FedExCup with 90 points.

Connor Arendell and David Lingmerth also fired 64, securing the final two spots to qualify for the tournament.

Lingmerth is a former winner on the PGA TOUR (2015 Memorial Tournament) but has struggled in recent seasons. His best finish of the season came three weeks ago at the Barbasol Championship, where he finished T11 after posting 65-70-65-70.

QUALIFIERS

Jacob Bergeron (62)
Age: 23
College: LSU
Turned pro: 2018
PGA TOUR starts: 2
Cuts made: 0
Notes: Bergeron will make his first PGA TOUR start since the 2020 Farmers Insurance Open (MC). Played in the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills (MC). … Has made three starts on the Korn Ferry Tour since 2019. Best Korn Ferry finish was T71 at the 2019 Chitimacha Lousiana Open by MISTRAS. … Has played seven events on PGA TOUR Latinoamerica this year, with top-10 finishes at the Puerto Plata Open (2nd) and the Banco Del Pacifico Open (T3). … Was the 11th-ranked junior golfer in the U.S. when he committed to attend LSU. … Bergeron is involved with Giving Hope NOLA, a local New Orleans organization that administers several programs, including feeding the homeless and elderly, supporting battered women, and building internal orphanages. He is personally connected to the organization’s golf program, which reaches out to inner city youth through the sport. … Ranked 776 in Official World Golf Ranking.

Austin Eckroat (64)
Age: 22
College: Oklahoma State
Turned pro: 2021
PGA TOUR starts: 5
Cuts made: 2
PGA TOUR earnings: $107,267
Notes: Wyndham Championship will be Eckroat’s fifth PGA TOUR event of the season. Best PGA TOUR finishes came this year at the Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by Unifin (T12) and at the 3M Open (T16). … Also has made three starts on the Korn Ferry Tour this year, finishing seventh at the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by Synnex Corporation and T13 at the Wichita Open Benefiting KU Wichita Pediatrics. … Claimed medalist honors at the 2017 U.S. Junior Amateur. … Was an honorable mention All-American as a freshman member of Oklahoma State’s 2018 NCAA title team, where his teammates included Viktor Hovland and Matthew Wolff. … Was second-team All-American after his junior season at Oklahoma State and was a third-teamer this year. Ranked 471 in Official World Golf Rankings.

Connor Arendell (64)
Age: 31
College: Central Florida
Turned pro: 2011
PGA TOUR starts: 4
Cuts made: 0
Notes: This is the second event Arendell has qualified for this season. His first start came at the Rocket Mortgage Classic (MC). … Competed in the 2019 U.S. Open. Finished T18 in the 2019 Country Club de Bogota Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour. Played an entire Korn Ferry Tour season in 2019, making 6 cuts in 22 starts. Played in five events on the European Tour in 2015 and made the cut in each.

David Lingmerth (64)
Age: 34
College: Arkansas
Turned pro: 2010
PGA TOUR starts: 183
Made cuts: 103
PGA TOUR earnings: $8,963,112
Notes: Will make his 10th start of the season at the Wyndham Championship and currently sits 205 in FedEx Cup standings. … Made 17 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour this season, with two top-25 finishes. Now playing on the PGA TOUR with past champion status. … Qualified for the BMW Championship in both 2015 and 2016, but has missed the Playoffs in each of the past three seasons. … Has not recorded a top-five finish on the PGA TOUR since the 2017 Quicken Loans National. Won the 2015 Memorial Tournament. … Won the 2012 Neediest Kids Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour. … Was a member of Arkansas’ 2009 NCAA runner-up team that also included TOUR winner Andrew Landry. … As a junior, Lingmerth won the 15U Swedish Youth Championship, the Bankboken Cup, finishing one stroke ahead of Henrik Norlander, who also is on the PGA TOUR. … Ranked 695 in Official World Golf Rankings.

NOTES

Notables who missed qualifying: Tyler Strafaci, John Huh, Stephen Stallings Jr., Brad Fritsch, Tain Lee, Jonathan Byrd, Andy Zhang, Broc Everett, Ben Crane, Heath Slocum, Daniel Wetterich, Andrew Yun and Ted Purdy

2020-21 Monday Qualifier statistics
Last event’s qualifier result (Barracuda Championship): Justin Suh (MC), John Greco (MC), Akshay Bhatia (MC), Mark Baldwin (T34)
Total money earned by Monday qualifiers on TOUR this season: $1,070,062
Best finish: M.J. Daffue (T12, Sanderson Farms Championship)
Next Monday qualifier: Fortinet Open at site to be determined (September 13, 2021)