Eric Cole of the US tees off at the 10th hole during the second round of the Zozo Championship PGA golf tournament at the Narashino Country Club in Inzai, Chiba prefecture on October 25, 2024. (Photo by Toshifumi KITAMURA / AFP) (Photo by TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP via Getty Images)
One year after finishing joint second at the Zozo, Eric Cole is in the mix for his first Tour title yet again.
The reigning Tour Rookie of the Year fired 67 on Friday and improved to 9-under 131. He had another good putting day and was bogey-free until he failed to get up and down from a greenside bunker at his final hole, the ninth.
Cole’s fondness of playing in Japan stretches back to him mother, Laura Baugh, who passed up a scholarship at Stanford and turned pro in 1973. She went to play in Japan until she met the LPGA’s age requirement for membership.
“IMG [International Management Group] offered me $1,000 to turn pro and go to Japan, all expenses paid. What could I say?” she told Golf Digest’s Guy Yocom.
One of the reporters asked Cole about his mother, calling her “The Fairy of the Greens,” and wondered if she’d be coming to Japan.
“I think she would love to come back, but this year didn’t work so maybe next year it’s on the schedule, we’ll see,” Cole said.
He added, “she’s told me a lot of great things about Japan. Last year being my first time, it was kind of cool to hear some of the great things that she had to say from her trips here, so it was kind of cool to share that with her.”
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