RBC HERITAGE

April 18, 2024

Austin Eckroat

Harbour Town Golf Links

Quick Quotes

Q. Solid start to your week here. Take us through how you were feeling.

AUSTIN ECKROAT: Yeah, yesterday kind of working on some things that I was struggling with at Augusta last week, so felt like I got in a good spot and was confident out there and felt like I was ready to go play some good golf. Just from the start, felt really comfortable.

Q. How much do wind conditions like you faced at the Masters maybe throw off your swing to when you get here you've got to work a couple things out?

AUSTIN ECKROAT: Yeah, if you play a bunch of windy golf in a row, you're going to get steep. Your flight is going to come down. I think it's important on the driving range at those windy events to get back to neutral, don't really care what the golf ball is doing.

I think it was so bad last week that I was able to just kind of restart when I got here. I wasn't working off any good feels. I just got to a spot where I was comfortable.

Q. What were you struggling with last week?

AUSTIN ECKROAT: Oh, man, everything. The only thing I did good last week was chip it, and I chipped a lot. It's never as far off as you think it is when you're hitting it poorly, and kind of the same way when you're hitting it well.

I came off a really good stretch, and all of a sudden I couldn't hit the golf ball. It's never far away from good golf, but it's also -- you're never that far away from struggling a little bit.

I just got to working on just the fundamentals, grip and setup positions, and it kind of worked itself out.

Q. How did you spend the weekend off?

AUSTIN ECKROAT: I actually went out and watched on Saturday, and it was honestly a really enjoyable weekend to go and watch the Masters. I had never done it, and try to take some notes on some guys playing well.

Sunday I watched at home and then ended up driving over here and took it easy. Took the Saturday and Sunday off, didn't touch a club, and had a nice refresh when I got here.

Q. Who did you go watch or holes that you stopped by?

AUSTIN ECKROAT: Yeah, obviously I went and watched Amen Corner. That was a really cool area. I wanted to see Tiger at least hit one shot, so I watched Tiger hit his tee ball on 10 and then I just hung out on 13. We had a good spot where we could see the second shots, and it was a really cool spot.

Q. Was there a shot today where you felt like, I'm back, or I have a good one in me?

AUSTIN ECKROAT: Yeah, definitely really from the start. I'm trying to think. I hit a really good 7-iron at some point in the round. I don't know where it was. Oh, it was 14. That's a hard shot. When I hit my -- on the par-3, 14, when I hit my tee ball it did exactly what I wanted to do. I was able to take on the flag a little bit, and it felt like the golf swing was in a really good spot.

Q. Has life changed much for you since Cognizant, winning? That comes with some stuff. How has it been?

AUSTIN ECKROAT: Yeah, it's obviously changed a lot. I'm playing in these events. I was planning on going to the Dominican, so it's obviously easier on my travel schedule.

But I think the job security is the biggest thing. I'm comfortable out here. Now I know I can compete and I have two and a half years of guaranteed status. Just some stability with that.

Q. A lot of local interest here yesterday with your pro-am pairing. Can you comment a little bit about playing with Coaches Beamer and Harris from South Carolina?

AUSTIN ECKROAT: It was incredible playing with both the coaches for South Carolina yesterday. It's incredible how personable they are with the fans and stuff. I think we should do a better job about that.

But it was great because we were able to talk trash on OU sports because they're moving to the SEC. We had a great time and bonded pretty well, and just great people to be around.

Q. Did you treat yourself to anything special since getting the win?

AUSTIN ECKROAT: No, not yet. It was funny, we started renovating a house that we were moving into, so it's kind of been where that money has been going to. I haven't really treated myself to anything. Simple guy.