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It didn’t take long for the memories to come flooding back for Austin Eckroat as he prepares to defend his maiden PGA Tour title at the 2025 Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches.

“Yeah … just the walk in — yeah, I did see a couple posters. It’s cool to come out to an event and you’re being recognized,” Eckroat said Tuesday.

The 26-year-old Eckroat will look to create even more memories when he tees off at the event on Thursday at the PGA National Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

“Whenever I walked on property, I was just doing an interview upstairs, and I could see the 18th green,” Eckroat said. “I haven’t been out on the golf course yet, but the memory of me sitting there on the 18th green doing a little post-round interview and then walking up and feeling such relief, it was just such a cool moment to look back on.

“I’m sure there’s going to be tons this week, especially on the back nine. Just remembering the shots I hit and really taking in the stress I was feeling but then the relief towards the end. I’m really looking forward to it.”

As well he should, considering he pocketed $1.62 million after he carded 23 birdies to win the event by three strokes last year.

In addition to that victory last March, Eckroat also captured the World Wide Technology Championship in November.

This season, it’s been a bit of a mixed bag for Eckroat, who has recorded two Top 15 finishes and four missed cuts. He stands 59th in the Fed Ex rankings.

“Yeah, it’s been an interesting start to the year,” he said. “FedEx-wise it’s my best start of the season. But I’ve had better starts where I feel like my game is in a better position.

‘It’s been, honestly, a weird start. I’ve felt very confident at times and then I’ve felt like I have to rebuild my whole golf game at times. But golf is a funny sport.

“In all honesty, I think everything is close. I think it’s there. It’s just putting all the pieces together, and I think honestly going home last week was huge for me. I was able to kind of settle myself and realize that I wasn’t struggling. It was just some mistimed bad shots and stuff like that.”

–Field Level Media