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Eric Cole is in Avondale, Louisiana, to participate in the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. This will be Cole's second experience at TPC Louisiana and he will have a very unique teammate.
Eric Cole's teammate will be former PGA Tour player Russell Cochran, now 65 years old. Cochran has previous experience at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, having played the event in 2009 when it was still played in an individual format. Cochran missed the cut on that occasion.
Russell Cochran is also the father of Eric Cole's caddie, Reed Cochran. So this is the fourth team whose members are somehow related beyond being colleagues. Cole and Cochran join the three brother pairs present, Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick, Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard, and Pierceson and Parker Coody.
Both Russell Cochran and Eric Cole told the PGA Tour Champions news service how this unique team came together.
Here's how Cochran told it:
"It's kind of funny. Eric [Cole] and I are good friends, obviously. Probably said no to him 30 times, you know, didn't feel right coming and playing. Had my buddy Mark Calcavecchia, he told me I'd be crazy not to play, and then, half the membership of the club we're at said 'Look, you got the nicest guy in the world, go play with him."
"So, they talked me into it and here I am. And just looking forward forward for a good week and having a lot of fun."
Eric Cole, for his part, said the following:
Russ [Russell Cochran] and I play a lot of golf togetherdown in south Florida, and his son Reed caddies for me, and we just kind of bounced the idea around a little bit. I think it took a little bit of a push for me to get Russ to play, but, he's played 599 events on Tour, so, this will be his 600th. So, kind of a cool week for us.
Who is Eric Cole's teammate, Russell Cochran
Russell Cochran has had a long career in professional golf, beginning in 1979 and extending to the present day. Cochran played on the now-called Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour Canada, but most of his career was on the PGA Tour.
At the highest level, he has played 599 tournaments, with a victory in the 1991 Western Open as his best result. He finished second eight times and reached the top 10 on 50 other occasions.
He made 357 cuts. Cochran began playing on the PGA Tour Champions in 2009 and last played on the PGA Tour in 2013. He has been playing on the Senior circuit until the current season (2024) with five victories as the best results, including a major (The Senior Open Championship 2011).
