BILTMORE CHAMPIONSHIP

September 17, 2026

Eric Cole

The Cliffs at Walnut Cove

Quick Quotes

Q. Eric, 7-under today. Great start to the week. Talk us through your round and what worked.

ERIC COLE: Yeah, no, it was kind of good through the bag. Got off to a really good start, so it was kind of my goal to keep that momentum going and keep the ball in front of me and in position and give myself as many chances as I can; that plan worked out pretty well, so it was over all pretty good day.

Q. New course for everyone. What about this course makes it challenging? I know it's odd set up with five par-3s, three par-5s and all that.

ERIC COLE: Yeah, I think that's kind of the thing. You know, the course is pretty soft, so it is gettable if you're hitting good shots.

But the par-3s are kind of the thing that stands out to me as the holes that you want to play a little more conservative and just be smart about what you're doing on those holes.

The holes you can be aggressive I think are the par-5s. They're all reachable and got a little bit of elevation so the ball is going pretty far.

So those are kind of the ones to focus on for birdies and just get through the par-3s at even would be great.

Q. Finished 49th in FedExCup standings, so you're in a great spot for next year. What are you kind of hoping to fill out during the fall series?

ERIC COLE: Yeah, I just like to play a lot of golf. I enjoy competing. You know, I worked a lot, really hard and a lot of years to get to the PGA Tour, so any chance I have to play and compete out here is something that means a lot to me, something I don't take for granted.

I'm going to play a decent amount in the fall and just see where my game is at, and hopefully get in contention a little bit and maybe give me something to show me what I need to work on over the offseason.

Q. Last one: Been a few weeks off since BMW. How did you spend the time?

ERIC COLE: Yeah, we did a little vacation up in Pennsylvania with my wife and her family. And then -- so that was about a week up there. And then just been at home relaxing, playing a little bit of golf with my buddies and stuff, but nothing too structured or I'm not working too hard, which was nice after a long year.

So just been kind of relaxing and enjoying some time at home.