Eric Cole wins final Fuhrer Invitational, donates winnings

It was pretty much a foregone conclusion who would win the final Frank B. Fuhrer Jr. Invitational on Wednesday.

PGA rookie Eric Cole, 35, essentially wrapped this title Monday morning when he shot a 7-under-par 28 on the back nine of his first round and built a commanding lead at Pittsburgh Field Club.

Someone would have to go low and chase Cole down. No one did. It became a battle for second place.

Cole, who is 39th in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings and has earned $2.9 million this season, shot a 3-under 67 during the final round and finished at 11-under 269. It was the second time he had won the tournament. The first came in 2014.

Four-time champion David Bradshaw, the defending champion, finished second with a 2-under 278, and Wexford amateur and Penn State player Jim Meyers finished third after shooting an even-par 280. Meyers was the low amateur for the second consecutive season.

T.J. Howe, the 2017 winner, was fourth. Mike Van Sickle, the 2013 winner, Connor Schmidt and Piri Borja tied for fifth.

Ligonier Valley Golf Club head pro Chris McKnight won the Senior Division.

Cole, who played in the PGA event this past week in Hartford, Conn., didn’t have to play in this year’s event, but given what the late Frank B. Fuhrer Jr. meant to him and his career, he felt obligated to play.

Words from the Winner. ????

Eric Cole
Champion (2014, 2023)

Frank B. Fuhrer Jr. Invitational
Pittsburgh Field Club.

Eric graciously donated his $20,000 purse for local charity use.

Eric Cole -11 (269)
63 | 71 | 68 | 67

Leaderboard Link In Bio. pic.twitter.com/hXeJ1PY7xj

— Tri-State PGA (@TriStatePGA) June 28, 2023

He drove to Pittsburgh from Hartford after his flight was canceled and arrived around midnight. He was on the tee Monday for an 8:10 a.m. tee time.

Fuhrer’s son, Frank Fuhrer III, said his father loved helping the less fortunate. He helped a lot of golfers and families over the years.

Cole pulled a Fuhrer Jr. by announcing he was donating his $20,000 purse to charities (to be decided) in the Pittsburgh area.

“It was a good nine holes, and it definitely helped,” Cole said about his opening round. “I know I was tired, but I got through it. The biggest thing was to be here for the first tee time on Monday so I could compete and honor Mr. Fuhrer in the last tournament.”

Cole said he was not sure if he had a better run than his first round when he birdied nine of his final 14 holes to finish with a 7-under 63.

“I’ve had some good rounds,” Cole said. “We’ve played a lot of hard courses where scoring has been difficult. I don’t think I’ve done better than that.

“I had a better ball-striking day (Wednesday) than I did on Tuesday. I hit it a lot better. I just tried to do the same things. If it’s working, you don’t want to go away from it.”

Cole has played in 11 consecutive PGA events and is a candidate for rookie of the year. He is the son of PGA legend Bobby Cole and LPGA player Laura Baugh. He skipped this week’s tournament in Detroit.

“What matters the most for me is being here,” Cole said. “Mr. Fuhrer gave me the chance to play here, and it saved my career when I won. It’s a high honor for me to win the last edition of this tournament, and it was something very important to me.

“I’ve been very lucky and had a good year this season, and it’s something I think that fits the theme of what Mr. Fuhrer did a lot of his life and with generosity and charitable giving. It’s not really about the money for me. ”

Fuhrer died May 21, 2022.

Meyers said being low amateur means a lot to him, and he is grateful that Mr. Fuhrer invited six years ago.

“This means a lot being low amateur,” Meyers said. “I won last year, but my score was a lot better this season. Coming to the event means a lot, and it’s an event I looked forward to.”

McKnight was the first — and only — senior winner of the event. The Senior Division was added this season.

He edged out seven other Senior players.

“It was a great honor to be included as a Tri-State PGA Senior player,” Knight said. “It’s a great deal to be included. I played pretty good for three rounds and was able to get the ‘W.’ ”

Kevin Shields, 51, won the Fuhrer twice during his career and was invited back for the final one after being banned by Fuhrer’s rule of players missing his tournament for another tournament, no matter if it was a PGA and USGA event. Once you missed, you were banned.

Fuhrer’s son changed it for the final event.

“You want to win any prestigious event in your hometown,” Shields said. “The special meaning for me is that I won it the same year my children were born. Mr. Fuhrer was so generous, and to win it twice those two years was special and also very helpful.”

Shields said the family did the right thing by inviting back the former champions.

Sean Knapp, 61, was one of three amateurs to win the event. The others were Nathan Smith and Fuhrer III. He was a three-time champion.

“Obviously you’re disappointed when anything ends, but it was for this to be the last year,” Knapp said. “I’m just glad after taking a recess that I was able to come back and participate. It was special to win and have your name on the trophy is special, especially a couple times.”

Fuhrer III briefly talked about his father and all the things his dad did for area golf.

He concluded by repeating what the late Bob Hope said at the end of his show: “Thanks for the memories.”