Austin Eckroat will earn the biggest payday of his young career.
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Sunday was, in his words, a “weird day” for Austin Eckroat.
He was tied for the lead at the Cognizant Classic, just the second 54-hole lead of his two-year-old PGA Tour career. But he wasn’t in the final group as those spots were occupied by his fellow co-leaders, Shane Lowry and David Skinns.
Eckroat also arrived at PGA National just as play was suspended due to inclement weather in Palm Beach Gardens.
“Mother Nature, there’s nothing you can do about it,” he said. “It was kind of nice, I still had a full warm-up session, it’s not like I had to rush after the rain delay and go straight out to playing. I was able to still get a full warm-up session, which was nice.”
Play resumed after a three-hour-and-30-minute delay, but Eckroat completed only seven holes. Still, that stretch was enough for him to separate from the field and take a one-shot lead as he seeks his first PGA Tour title.
“I don’t really know if I’ve had a situation like this where I’ve had the lead over however many holes we’ve played, 63 holes. I don’t think I’ve ever been in this situation,” he said.
He’s also never been in position to take home $1.62 million for winning a golf tournament.
Not that it showed on Monday when Eckroat closed out his final round in style, making three more birdies to shoot a four-under 67 to win by three.
Here is a complete list of the 2024 Cognizant Classic payouts for all 68 players who made the cut. The total purse is $9 million.
How much every player made at the 2024 Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches
1. Austin Eckroat $1.62 million
T2. Min Woo Lee $801,000 Erik Van Rooyen
T4. David Skinns $344,250 Jake Knapp K.H. Lee Cameron Young Shane Lowry
T9. Keith Mitchell $210,535.72 Billy Horschel Peter Malnati Alex Noren Andrew Novak Kevin Yu Martin Laird
T16. Tyson Alexander $137,250 Doug Ghim Garrick Higgo Ben Silverman Victor Perez
T21. Byeong Hun An $87,750 Sam Ryder Zach Johnson Matt Fitzpatrick Rory McIlroy Bud Cauley Nico Echavarria
T28. Chris Kirk $59,014.29 Beau Hossler Chan Kim Tom Hoge Matthieu Pavon C.T. Pan Jacob Bridgeman
T35. Ryan Fox $43,875 Lucas Glover Chris Gotterup Chesson Hadley Jimmy Stanger Chad Ramey
T41. Corey Conners $32,850 Joseph Bramlett Maverick McNealy David Lipsky Rickie Fowler Russell Henley
T47. Davis Thompson $23,880 Troy Merritt Vincent Norrman Alexander Bjork Parker Coody Max Greyserman
T53. Jorge Campillo $21,390 Mac Meissner Nick Dunlap
T56. Adam Schenk $20,700 Greyson Sigg Carson Young Rico Hoey
Jack Hirsh is the Associate Equipment Editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as head coach. Jack also still *tries* to remain competitive in local amateurs. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting the weather. He can be reached at jack.hirsh@golf.com.