RSM Classic: Austin Cook closes fall season with first PGA TOUR victory
Austin Cook, a 2017 graduate of the Web.com Tour, wins the RSM Classic for his first PGA TOUR victory.
The PGA TOUR‘s wraparound season – once a hugely controversial concept – has become a highlight of the TOUR calendar in recent years. With opportunities tailor-made for Web.com Tour alumni and opportunistic veterans, a few good weeks can jump-start a career. On Sunday at the RSM Classic, Austin Cook took full advantage of the opportunity, winning his first PGA TOUR event by four strokes over J.J. Spaun.
Hardcore golf fans will recognize Cook from a handful of 2015 events, where he looked ready to bring his game to golf’s biggest stage. The former University of Arkansas Razorback turned pro in 2014, and in 2015, he Monday qualified for the Shell Houston Open. He made a strong run, finishing T-11 that week.
Even with a pair of top-ten finishes, at the Barbasol Championship and RBC Canadian Open, Cook did not earn full PGA TOUR membership. Instead, he spent the past two seasons working his way through the Web.com Tour, always with the goal of returning to the big show on a full-time basis.
That didn’t take too long.
Cook capped off a fantastic run through the Web.com Tour Finals with three straight top-11 finishes, comfortably finishing 11th in “The 25” and earning his PGA TOUR card for 2017-18. He made his rookie debut with a T25 at the Sanderson Farms Championship, then followed it with a T20 at the Shriners.
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In his fourth straight week of action, and the last tournament of 2017, Cook earned his breakthrough moment. He opened up a solid lead through 54 holes, and held strong despite Spaun’s late charge. It was a powerful finish that belied the fact that this was just Cook’s 14th PGA TOUR start.
With the victory, Cook jumped from 88th to third place in the early FedEx Cup standings, and suddenly many of his goals don’t seem quite so farfetched. He’ll live out one of the biggest coming up this April, when he plays in his first ever Masters Tournament.
Austin Cook may technically be a newcomer, but he’s been tested by some of the best to play on the PGA TOUR already. They say the first win is the toughest one to get, but the next one is the most important. Don’t be surprised if Cook plants himself firmly at the top of TOUR leaderboards on a regular basis in 2018.