Eckroat wins 2nd title, A Lim Kim snaps winless drought in Hawaii | The Sunday Swing

The Sunday Swing 
November 10th, 2024 

Welcome back to another edition of the Sunday Swing presented by 2nd Swing Golf. This week on the pro golf circuit, the PGA Tour was in Cabo, Mexico for the World Wide Technology Championship, while the LPGA Tour was in Honolulu, Hawaii for the Lotte Championship.

World Wide Technology Championship - Tournament History

The World Wide Technology Championship was founded in 2007, when it became the first PGA Tour event to be played outside of the United States and Canada. For its first 16 years, the event was held in Riviera Maya but was moved to Cabo in 2023. It is now hosted at the Tiger Woods designed El Cardonal, which measures 7,363 yards from the championship tees. Based on his roots in California, Tiger designed El Cardonal to test golfers of every skill level- providing players with the opportunity to play each hole differently, with shot placement and angles playing big factors in how players attack the course. The course features wide fairways, sandy dunes, and amazing views of the pacific. The previous five winners of the World Wide Technology Championship are as follows: 

2024 - Austin Eckroat (-24)
2023 - Erik Van Rooyen (-27)
2022 - Russell Henley (-22)
2021 - Viktor Hovland (-23) 
2020 - Viktor Hovland (-20) 

The Big Swing 

This week the big swing belongs to Austin Eckroat. Eckroat broke through for his first victory on the PGA Tour earlier this year in March when he blitzed the field at the Cognizant Classic and won by three. While the rest of his season was nothing to write home about, it was still his best season on Tour no doubt. Eckroat came into this week having last played at the Shriners a few weeks ago where he finished T46. 

Eckroat came out of the gates on Thursday with a solid round of 68 in windy conditions, which he followed up with a second round 67. As the wind died after round 1, many other players were able to take advantage including recent winner Nico Echavarria, who made seven birdies and an eagle on his way to a second round 63 as he surged up the leaderboard.

On Saturday, it was another shootout as the players made their way around El Cardonal. Justin Lower made the biggest move, matching Echavarria’s Friday 63 with one of his own on Saturday, getting him to 16-under on the week. Eckroat improved on his previous round again shooting 66, while Echavarria posted 68. Up and comer Carson Young also played his way into the mix, with rounds of 61 and 67 on Friday and Saturday which also got him to 16-under. By day's end, there was a three-way tie at the top between Echavarria, Lower, and Young. There was another trio of players trailing the leaders by one that included Eckroat, Highsmith, and Greyserman. 

On Sunday, low scores continued to be the story as conditions were ideal again. Eckroat immediately applied pressure to the leaders, as he birdied 5 of the first 6 holes. He would turn in 31, and then birdied 10, 11, 12, and 14 to jump ahead. Eckroat got it to 25-under through 17, but finally gave one back at the par-5 18th. In the end he would make 11 birdies on his way to a Sunday 63. 

Meanwhile in the groups behind him, Lower and Young were also playing well. Echavarria had fallen back a bit as he wasn’t able to recover from an early double bogey. Justin Lower made eagle on the 18th to get it to 23-under and finishing just one back, while Young also needed an eagle to tie Eckroat’s 24-under number. After a blistering 3-wood from 292, Young had an opportunity from long range to force a playoff but was ultimately not able to cash in. Young and Lower would both finish just one back of Eckroat, Greyserman was solo 4th at 22-under, and Highsmith solo 5th at 19-under.

Winner’s Bag - Austin Eckroat

PING staffer Austin Eckroat picked up his 2nd PGA Tour title in Cabo on Sunday thanks to a final round 63. While his bag consists entirely of Ping product, an equipment change this week helped get him back in the winners circle. Off the tee, Eckroat games the PING G430 LST (10.5 degrees). He carries just one fairway metal currently in the PING G430 Max (15 degrees). Powering the iron game are PING’s newest blueprint models. Eckroat plays a Blueprint S 3-iron, and Blueprint T 4-PW. Around the greens, he plays a trio of PING Glide Forged Pro wedges (50, 54, and 60 degrees). His newest addition to the bag is the putter, moving from a Redwood D66 to a custom PLD DZB. 

In the World of Women’s Golf 

This week the LPGA Tour was in Honolulu for the Lotte Champjonship. A Lim Kim, 29-year-old from South Korea was able to pick up her 2nd LPGA Tour title this week. Kim won the U.S. Women’s Open back in 2020 so she clearly has game, but it’s been 4 years since her last LPGA Tour victory. Kim opened her week with rounds of 66 and 69, setting herself up to contend on the weekend. The highlight of her week was certainly the 9th hole of round 3, where she made an ace on the par-3 and ended up shooting another 67. She continued her strong play on Sunday, carding her 4th consecutive round in the 60’s. Her final round 68 would get her to 18-under for the championship and be enough to win by two over Nataliya Guseva.