Austin Eckroat made the most of the weather-delayed Cognizant Classic, carding a 4-under 67 in his final round, to claim his first PGA Tour victory by a three-stroke winning margin. His previous best finish was as the runner-up at the AT&T Byron Nelson in 2023. 

Eckroat’s winning bag features nothing but PING, as he played with a majority of PING’s newest releases other than in his short game on his way to victory.

All WITB info courtesy of GolfWRX.

Leading the way off the tee for Eckroat is a PING G430 LST driver. With its low-spin head, the G430 LST provides players with a workable driver with the low-spin adding some potential distance. Eckroat’s driver was one of the stars of his win, as he finished 4th in Strokes Gained off the Tee. While he wasn’t the longest player, averaging just over 292 yards off the tee, which was good for 45th best, he was precise, finishing tied for 3rd in driving accuracy, finding the fairway on 45 of 56 holes.

Fairway Wood: PING G430 Max

Eckroat stays with the G430 line for his fairway wood, though he moves into a Max model, instead of the LST like he did with his driver. The Max is a high MOI, high-launching model, designed for the widest range of golfers, and it served Eckroat well both off the tee and as an option for par 5’s.

Irons: PING Blueprint S (3) and Blueprint T (4-PW)

For his irons, Eckroat combos PING’s newest Blueprint Line, opting for the Blueprint S for his 3-iron, and then the Blueprint T for his 4-PW. The S has a small cavity in its head, making it a more forgiving players iron, while the T is a fully forged, muscle back aimed at precision. Like his driver, Eckroat’s irons were lethal. He led the field in Greens in Regulation, hitting 59 of 72, helping him finish 5th in Strokes Gained Approach to Green.

Wedges: PING Glide Forged Pro (50, 54, 60 degrees)

As we get to his short game, that’s where Eckroat ventures away from PING’s latest releases, and instead opts for the PING Glide Forged Pro Wedges, which were released in 2020. These wedges played a major role in Eckroat leading the field in GIR percentage, and while his scrambling wasn’t great, converting 7 of his 13 chances, his precision from the fairway was good enough that it didn’t cost him.

Eckroat goes even further back for his putter, as he rolls a PING Redwood D66 putter, which was released in 2006. The Redwood D66 has a classic blade design, but with a face-balanced setup. While his driver and iron play were the two stalwarts this weekend, his putter was very good as he finished 16th in Strokes Gained Putting, tying for 6th in total putts, and tying for 3rd in Putts per Green in Regulation.