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Eric Cole Parents: Meet Bobby Cole and Laura Baugh

Eric Cole Parents
Eric Cole Parents
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Eric Cole Parents: Eric Cole is a rising star in the world of golf. He recently finished second at the Honda Classic, narrowly missing the chance to emulate his father, Bobby Cole, who won the 1977 Buick Open.

He developed love for golf at an early age, since then, he moved on to become a star in the world of golf.

Eric Cole Parents: Meet Bobby Cole and Laura Baugh

Eric’s mother, Laura Baugh, is also a former golf pro. This article talks about Eric Cole parents and how they influenced his golf career.

Laura Baugh, Eric Cole’s mother, was born in Gainesville, Florida, in May 1955 to Olympian Hale Baugh. Hale, a pentathlete at the 1948 Summer Olympics, was an accomplished amateur golfer who introduced his children to golf at an early age.

Laura started playing golf with her father and brothers every day at Cocoa Rockledge Country Club. Laura’s talent was evident at an early age, and at the age of 14, she won the Los Angeles Women’s City Golf Championship. The following year, she repeated her feat.

In 1971, Laura became the youngest U.S. Women’s Amateur champion at the age of 16. In the same year, Golf Digest named Laura the ‘Most Beautiful Golfer.’

Before starting her professional career, Laura decided to capitalize on the hype surrounding her appearance.

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After signing with IMG, Laura became an international star, featuring in commercials in Japan, exhibitions, and clinics all over.

Laura said, “There was a lot of money to be made, and I did it. My mother and I had been living on less than moderate income, and I had the opportunity to make money the other girls didn’t have.”

Despite many expectations of winning multiple professional titles, Laura struggled to live up to them. During her career, she finished as a runner-up ten times and had 71 top-10 finishes but no wins.

Laura said that raising children impacted her golf career, “I didn’t realize I would start having all these children and that my priorities would change.

It was that simple. When I was 22, I always thought there would be plenty of time to play. But with children, the priority of going out and hitting golf balls changes.”

Laura turned to alcohol to deal with her sorrow, which almost killed her. Laura’s problems with alcohol started in the mid-1980s.

Alcohol calmed her nerves and temporarily relieved a tremor in her hands. With time, she became increasingly dependent on alcohol.

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Though Laura denied she had a problem, the toll alcohol had taken on her career and life was clear as day.

Laura acknowledged her alcoholism after a near-death experience at Sand Lake Hospital in Orlando in 1996: internal bleeding caused by heavy drinking almost killed her.

After this, Laura checked into rehab, got sober, and has been sober ever since.

Eric Cole was born on 12th June 1988 to Laura Baugh and Bobby Cole. Bobby Cole, Eric’s father, is a former South African golfer who had an impressive career on the PGA Tour.

Bobby won the 1977 Buick Open and finished in the top-20 of the Official World Golf Ranking.

Eric grew up with six siblings and was exposed to golf at a very early age. Laura helped Eric with his golf game when he was young, and he played more with her than with his father, as they hit similar distances. Eric played golf at St. Andrews University in Scotland before turning professional in 2013.

Eric Cole has had a successful career so far, with multiple wins on the Korn Ferry Tour and four top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour.

He came close to his first PGA Tour win at the Honda Classic in late February 2023, where he finished in second place.

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