Austin Eckroat won the Cognizant Classic last year, which opened the door for him to major tournaments. The 26-year-old American has won twice on the PGA Tour, but the crowning glory of his career was playing in the Masters last year. The young golfer had the chance to play with the greats of the sport, on an iconic golf course. That experience is still fresh in his mind, as he confirmed during a press conference ahead of the Cognizant Classic.
Eckroat said that coming to Augusta National gave him a taste of what it means to play such tournaments, admitting that only the experience of playing can convey what it feels like.
“As a first-timer,” Eckroat said, as quoted by The Fresno Bee.
“I think it’s honestly — I don’t know if it’s a little bit of a hazing thing, but you don’t know anything until you get there, and the yardage book sucks (laughing). There’s so many things that you have to figure out through experience.”
Austin Eckroat talks about Masters experience
Playing such tournaments carries a special pressure and responsibility. It seems as if the young golfer took such a task too seriously, and the anxiety he felt absolutely did not help him to succeed in this tournament. Moreover…
Eckroat admitted that he had a lot of problems, and missing the cut was an expected thing in such an atmosphere.
“Last year with Augusta, my game was not in a good spot going into it,” he said, “so I was very, I would say, not on edge, but I was anxious about playing Augusta. I think I had some issues in the golf swing that I was managing that weren’t coming out whenever I was playing in other tournaments, but then I get there, all the emotions and everything, and I was a little exposed, honestly.”
Maybe this year will be an opportunity for a completely different scenario, given that the American golfer has gained important experience, and we have no doubt that things will look much better this time.
Tennis World USA