Eric Cole continues hot play, equals low round Saturday at Genesis Invitational with 65
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — Eric Cole was not happy with the way he hit the ball from tee to green during Friday's second round of the Genesis Invitational, so he headed to the range following his 18 holes and got to work.
It paid off on Saturday.
Cole, the Tequesta resident and PGA Tour's 2023 rookie of the year, not only fired a 6-under 65 — which equals the low round of the day — but he was first in the field in strokes gained: tee to green for the day when he finished his round.
"Got some things dialed in," said Cole, who enters Sunday at 6-under for the tournament. "It was definitely better today. Made a couple of putts on top of that."
Cole has improved each day at Riviera Country Club with scores of 73, 69, 65 which puts him tied for 15th, eight strokes behind leader Patrick Cantlay of Jupiter. And those putts: How about 27 feet on No. 7, 10 feet on No. 11, and 8 feet on the fifth and sixth holes, all for birdie. He also saved par with a 13-footer on the 13th.
Cole's only blemish on a card in which he had seven birdies was a bogey at No. 2.
More: Pathway to signature events reason to play in tournaments like Cognizant Classic | D'Angelo
Cole had his breakout year in 2023, the year in which he turned 35. He played 37 events with seven top 10s, including two seconds. One of those was the Honda Classic (now Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches) where he lost a playoff to Chris Kirk. Cole will return to play in this year's Cognizant, which starts Feb. 29 at PGA National.
All of that resulted in Cole capturing the tour's Rookie of the Year, 50 years after his mom, Laura Baugh, won the same award on the LPGA Tour. He is the second-oldest player to be named top rookie behind Todd Hamilton, who was 39 when he won in 2004. The Rookie of the Year Award was established in 1990.
Cole, who has risen to a career-high No. 37 in the world rankings (he was No. 328 one year ago) continues to seek his first PGA Tour win. Genesis is his seventh event this season. He has four top 25s.
"I always have high expectations for myself," he said. "Maybe it's not as big of a shock to other people this year versus last year but golf is a tough sport and anytime you have a good day it's a good thing. It's always a good feeling when you have a good day."
Tom D'Angelo is a sports columnist and reporter at The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com. Follow him on social media @tomdangelo44.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Eric Cole's 65 puts him a 6-under at Genesis Invitational
