When a 35-year-old golfer banks $5.4 million in a single PGA Tour season after 13 years grinding through the Minor League Golf Tour, the world takes notice.
Eric Cole net worth continues to rise on the back of that record-breaking 2022–23 rookie campaign, fueled by prize money, equipment sponsorships, and brand partnerships that once seemed far out of reach.
Eric Cole’s Biography
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Eric James Cole |
| Date of Birth | June 12, 1988 |
| Age | 38 |
| Nationality | American |
| Birthplace | Palm Springs, California |
| Residence | Delray Beach, Florida |
| Height / Weight | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) / 155 lbs (70 kg) |
| Plays | Right-handed |
| Career-High OWGR | 36 (February 25, 2024) |
| Turned Professional | 2009 |
| Years Active | 2009–present |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour (current); Korn Ferry Tour, Minor League Golf Tour (former) |
| College | Nova Southeastern University |
| Net Worth | ~$5 million (estimated) |
| Career Prize Money | $10.5+ million (all tours) |
| Major Titles | None |
| PGA Tour Rookie of the Year | 2022–23 (Arnold Palmer Award) |
| Relationship Status | Married |
| Wife | Stephanie Williams |
| Caddie | Reed Cochran |
Early Life and Golf Journey
Eric James Cole was born on June 12, 1988, in Palm Springs, California, into a family where golf was not merely a hobby but a professional calling.
His father, Bobby Cole, won the British Amateur Championship in 1966 at just 18 — the youngest ever to claim that title — and added the 1977 Buick Open on the PGA Tour to his résumé.
His mother, Laura Baugh, captured the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at 16 in 1971 before earning the LPGA Rookie of the Year honor in 1973.
Growing up as the eldest of seven siblings in a household shaped entirely by elite professional golf, Cole began playing seriously at age 11. He never worked with an outside coach — his parents served as his only instructors throughout his entire development.
The family relocated to Florida, where Cole attended high school in Orlando and at 14 became close friends with Sam Saunders, Arnold Palmer’s grandson, through the competitive junior golf scene at Bay Hill Club.
Cole went on to compete collegiately at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He turned professional in 2009, but Q-School attempts repeatedly fell short, leaving him competing on the Minor League Golf Tour (MLGT) for years.
Rather than give up, he dominated the MLGT, winning 58 times across his career, including the tour championship in 2009 and 2021 and the money list title in 2019.
Between events, he earned income by coaching and occasionally caddying for Sam Saunders on the PGA Tour, maintaining his connection to the highest level of the game while waiting for his own break.
Professional Golf Career
Cole earned his Korn Ferry Tour card for the first time in 2017, giving him his first real foothold on an established professional tour.
After losing status and returning to the MLGT, he re-earned the Korn Ferry card in 2021 and made it count — a tied-third finish at the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Championship clinched his PGA Tour card for the 2022–23 season.
His PGA Tour debut season rewrote expectations for late-blooming professionals. Playing 37 events, Cole recorded seven top-10 finishes, including runner-up results at the Cognizant Classic (formerly the Honda Classic) and the Zozo Championship.
He became the only rookie in the 2022–23 field to break the top 50 of the FedExCup standings, finishing 43rd.
That consistency across the entire season secured him the PGA Tour Arnold Palmer Award as the 2022–23 Rookie of the Year, as voted on by his fellow Tour members.
At 35, Cole became the second-oldest Rookie of the Year recipient in PGA Tour history, behind only Todd Hamilton, who was 38 when he won the award in 2004.
The honor carried added family significance — his mother Laura Baugh had won the LPGA Rookie of the Year exactly 50 years earlier in 1973, making them the only mother-and-son pair to win Rookie of the Year on their respective tours.
On the Major stage, his best result came at the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club, where he tied for 15th. He also finished T39 at the 2023 U.S. Open, 52nd at the 2024 Masters, and T31 at the 2024 Open Championship, building a solid Major record for someone without a Tour win.
His full official PGA Tour player profile chronicles his steady accumulation of top-25 and top-10 results since joining the Tour in 2022.
Caddie
Reed Cochran has carried Eric Cole’s bag since at least May 2022, when Cole was grinding through Korn Ferry Tour Q-School.
Their partnership has now extended through four full PGA Tour seasons, with Cole’s name still appearing alongside Reed Cochran’s on official PGA Tour caddie lists in 2026.
As Golf Monthly has documented, Reed comes from deep golf roots — his father is Russ Cochran, a PGA Tour and Champions Tour professional with 11 career victories, including the 1996 Western Open and the 2011 Senior Open Championship.
Cole and Russ Cochran are close friends who regularly play golf together in south Florida, and the three even partnered creatively at the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where Cole and Russ teamed up as playing partners while Reed worked the bag.
Wife
Eric Cole married Stephanie Williams on December 9, 2023, at the Reefhouse Resort & Marina in Florida in a small, intimate ceremony.
The couple had dated for more than seven years before Cole proposed in February 2023 — on the 18th green at Monterey Peninsula’s Shore Course during the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, after completing a practice round.
“I didn’t expect it. He totally surprised me,” Stephanie told PGATour.com after the proposal. Cole posted wedding photos with the caption: “Best day of my life. Thanks to all our friends and family who helped make our wedding so special.”
Stephanie Williams was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Boston, Massachusetts.
The couple currently lives in Delray Beach, Florida. She maintains a strictly private life and keeps her social media accounts restricted. No children have been publicly confirmed as of 2026.
On the family side, Cole is the eldest of seven siblings born to Bobby Cole and Laura Baugh.
His father won the 1966 British Amateur at 18 and the 1977 Buick Open on the PGA Tour, while his mother remains one of the most recognizable names in LPGA Tour history from the 1970s and early 1980s.
Eric Cole’s Net Worth Details
As of 2026, Eric Cole’s has an estimated net worth of $5 million.
He built this fortune primarily through PGA Tour prize money — headlined by his extraordinary $5.4 million rookie season — supported by equipment deals, apparel partnerships, and several brand sponsorships that have expanded since his 2023 Rookie of the Year recognition.
Career Prize Money
Cole’s total career prize money across all tours exceeds $10.5 million as of mid-2026.
The foundation of that figure is his 2022–23 PGA Tour rookie season, where he banked $5.4 million, more than any other rookie in that campaign and enough to comfortably rank him among the top 50 earners that year on Tour.
His single highest-earning tournament finish came at the 2022–23 Cognizant Classic (formerly the Honda Classic), where a runner-up result earned him $915,600.
His second-best individual payout arrived at the Zozo Championship, where another runner-up finish generated $748,000.
In the 2024 PGA Tour season, Cole earned approximately $2 million — highlighted by a tied-10th finish at the Genesis Invitational worth $455,000, his best individual result that season.
The 2025 PGA Tour season delivered $1,919,782 in official prize money, placing Cole 75th on the full-season money list.
His 2026 campaign is still in progress, with $303,288 banked through mid-July.
Cole’s MLGT career, while spectacular in terms of win count, produced approximately $210,000 in total prize money given the modest purse sizes at that level — a sharp contrast to what he eventually accessed on the PGA Tour.
Career Earnings By Year
| Season / Year | Tournament Wins | Prize Money Earned |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-PGA Tour (MLGT Career) | 58 (MLGT) | ~$210,000 |
| 2021–22 (Korn Ferry Tour) | 0 | ~$200,000 (est.) |
| 2022–23 (PGA Tour) | 0 | $5,400,000 |
| 2024 (PGA Tour) | 0 | ~$2,000,000 (est.) |
| 2025 (PGA Tour) | 0 | $1,919,782 |
| 2026 (PGA Tour, partial) | 0 | $303,288* |
Endorsements
Cole’s primary equipment relationship is with PXG (Parsons Xtreme Golf), one of the premium club brands on Tour.
His driver is the PXG 0311 Black Ops (9 degrees), his irons are the PXG 0317 ST (5-PW) and 0317 CB (4-iron), and his putter is the PXG Battle Ready II Bat Attack — a center-shafted model. A full breakdown of his equipment setup is documented in GolfWRX’s What’s in the Bag report.
His wedges and golf ball come from Titleist, using the Pro V1x, a common arrangement for PXG players who split club and ball contracts between brands. Cole wears FootJoy sneaker-style golf shoes, which he has carried consistently through his seasons on Tour.
Beyond clubs and footwear, Cole’s verified Instagram sponsor list includes Tasc Apparel (performance golf apparel), BlueTide Office (business services), and Alpha Advisors (financial advisory).
These partnerships, while smaller in scale than the mega-deals secured by Major winners and world-ranked stars, reflect a growing commercial profile for a player who won the 2023 Arnold Palmer Award and has earned over $10.5 million across his career.
As Golf Monthly has noted, Cole’s unlikely rise from Minor League Golf to PGA Tour regular makes him one of the more compelling brand ambassador stories on Tour.
Career Statistics
| Year / Season | Events Played | Titles Won | Majors Won | Year-End Standing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021–22 (Korn Ferry Tour) | — | 0 | — | T3, KFT Championship (earned PGA Tour card) |
| 2022–23 (PGA Tour) | 37 | 0 | 0 | FedEx Cup: 43rd; Rookie of the Year |
| 2024 (PGA Tour) | 26+ | 0 | 0 | OWGR peak 36 (February); top-60 OWGR |
| 2025 (PGA Tour) | 28+ | 0 | 0 | Money list: 75th ($1.92M) |
| 2026 (PGA Tour, partial) | 10+ | 0 | 0 | Money list: 98th ($303K through mid-July) |
FAQs
What is Eric Cole’s total career prize money?
Eric Cole has earned over $10.5 million in total career prize money across all tours, including approximately $9.6 million on the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour combined, plus roughly $210,000 accumulated across 58 wins on the Minor League Golf Tour.
Has Eric Cole won a PGA Tour event?
Eric Cole has not won a PGA Tour event. His best Tour results include two runner-up finishes in the 2022–23 rookie season — at the Cognizant Classic ($915,600) and the Zozo Championship ($748,000) — along with multiple additional top-10 performances across subsequent seasons.
What is Eric Cole’s biggest endorsement deal?
Cole’s primary equipment relationship is with PXG (Parsons Xtreme Golf), whose clubs fill most of his bag. He also holds verified deals with Titleist (ball and wedges), FootJoy (footwear), Tasc Apparel, BlueTide Office, and Alpha Advisors financial services.
What is Eric Cole’s best finish in a Major championship?
Cole’s best Major result is a tied-15th at the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club. He has also appeared at the 2023 U.S. Open (T39), the 2024 Masters Tournament (52nd), and the 2024 Open Championship (T31).
What is Eric Cole’s net worth?
Eric Cole’s estimated net worth is approximately $5 million, built from over $10.5 million in career prize money, equipment contracts with PXG and Titleist, apparel deals with FootJoy and Tasc Apparel, and several additional brand partnerships accumulated since his PGA Tour debut in 2022.
