ZURICH CLASSIC OF NEW ORLEANS

April 23, 2026

Davis Thompson

Austin Eckroat

TPC Louisiana

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Great round today, 13-under. How would you assess what was working out there for you? Start with Davis.

DAVIS THOMPSON: Yeah, I felt like we kind of eased our way into the round. Made a few birdies early, and then seven through the rest of the way in we just road the momentum and made a bunch of birdies and also made a nice eagle on seven. Yeah, just road the wave in and had a lot of fun out there.

AUSTIN ECKROAT: Yeah, it was I would say super consistent from both of us. It wasn't the true ham and egg where I was making double and he was making birdie, he was making double, I was making birdie. We were both playing great golf all day. We both made a ton of putts.

I think we had really good vibes out there, and the game was good.

Q. As you start that run on seven and eagle, birdie, and just keeps going, do you consciously, if you are playing by yourself, not talk about something, do something as you sort of realize, okay, this is kind of getting deep, or because it's a super partner format, does that change the approach that you might have as you start to look at your score card and be, like, okay, that's six birdies in a row after an eagle, things are good here?

DAVIS THOMPSON: I feel like we were hitting really good iron shots on the back nine. We were both having birdie looks, and I feel like that freed us up even more. I felt like we were both seeing reads really well today, which helps.

Yeah, I mean, we weren't really talking about it. We were just trying to stack as many looks as possible and post a good score, and we were able to do that.

AUSTIN ECKROAT: Yeah, I agree with that. I think we were both in -- early on we didn't get the early birdies, but we knew the game there was. He would hit it in the center of the green or in a good spot, and I was able to be more aggressive, and vice versa for him as well.

Q. I don't know if a team expects a 59 or a 60, but given the circumstances, playing this format on a golf course, conditions seem to be pretty good, a little bit of rain last night, is this about the level of golf that you guys wanted to play or would have expected to play, forget the actual score?

DAVIS THOMPSON: I feel like both of us have been playing well, so you know, trying not to put expectations on the round. But I feel like if we got to double digits, that would have been a solid day, and that would kind of help us keep pace.

Like I said, we he are just riding the momentum all the way in, and we were able to make three more coming in, so that was huge.

AUSTIN ECKROAT: Yeah.

Q. It was the first round. You want to be relaxed and everything. But at the same time, with alternate shot tomorrow, you can play well. A team can play well and not score as well. Is there a sense of urgency out there to try to get as low as you can? I know you want to birdie every hole, but is there an added sense of urgency because you know tomorrow is very different?

AUSTIN ECKROAT: I would say so. You know, you know you got to take advantage of the best ball day. I guess we did a good job of that today. Like you said, tomorrow you never know. It's a lot harder to make birdies in alternate shot, but I feel like both of our games are in really good spots, both in our irons, and we're both driving it well.

I wouldn't be surprised if we went out and had a good day tomorrow as well.