Who Is Austin Eckroat’s Caddie At The 2025 John Deere Classic? Personal Life, Career & More

For Austin Eckroat, the John Deere Classic started on a pretty high note. He shot 63 on Thursday, setting a great tone. But then came Friday, and things unraveled rather quickly. He shot 71, only to fall 14 positions on the leaderboard. After the first 36 holes, his scorecard says 8 under, and he is tied for the 16th spot. In a great round, he had his caddie helping him, and in a mediocre round too, it was his looper helping him navigate the greens of TPC Deere Run.

Stone Coburn, Eckroat’s caddie, started caddying in earnest at Mayakoba in 2020 during the golfer’s impressive amateur appearance. The two were college friends, but when Eckroat qualified for the 2019 U.S. Open at Northwood Club in Dallas, Coburn wasn’t yet on the bag full-time. “I didn’t get to caddie for him then… he was in college, and his college caddie was on the bag,” Coburn said. “But last year, we qualified at Northwood again… and I did get to caddie in that one. That was pretty cool.” Coburn was on Eckroat’s bag when he played the 2023 US Open, and the duo finished at a solid T10. Now firmly established as Eckroat’s full-time caddie, Coburn experienced one of golf’s most iconic venues firsthand in 2024. The Augusta!

When he stepped inside the ropes at Augusta National for Masters prep, the magnitude of it wasn’t lost on him. “It was amazing,” Coburn said. “It was so much harder than I thought it was going to be. The greens were rocks… I was like, ‘How do you even make a birdie out here?’” That kind of candor shows just how far he’s grown into his role, from a fan in the gallery to a trusted tactician walking among patrons at one of golf’s most demanding stages. Coburn and Eckroat have played in two Masters (2024 and 2025) but sadly missed the cut in both.

Despite being a part of the PGA Tour grind, Coburn stays low-key off the course. He doesn’t do social media. His reason? “I think they just pulled everything off my Instagram and made assumptions,” he shared. But while he may not post much, he prepares with intention—often working alongside other tour caddies like Shay (Viktor Hovland’s caddie) and Sam Stevens, who also came through Oklahoma State’s standout golf program. “It’s nice to come out and have a couple of buddies you can play with and get some knowledge from,” he said.

Their first full season on the PGA Tour came in 2023 when Austin played 32 events and made 17 cuts. Despite a brutal stretch, the two kept their calm. “We went through a stretch of, like, missing seven in a row, but it was always by, like, one or two shots,” Coburn explained. Coburn attributed the struggles to Eckroat “searching for a swing, his game, and not having a ton of confidence.” Fast forward to 2024, and the turnaround has been dramatic.

They played 27 events last year, winning two and missing the cut in only five. In 2024, Eckroat earned $5,054,871, which probably gave his net worth a boost. But what changed? One of the biggest differences was the short game. “He’s so much better at chipping now than he was last year. That gives him a lot more confidence with his game all around,” Coburn shared. I

It all culminated in their maiden PGA Tour win at the Cognizant Classic, where Eckroat pulled away with clutch birdies. “I was like, man, we’re going to win—pretty much no matter what,” Coburn said about walking up 18 with a three-shot lead. “Once we hit our approach to 18, we kind of looked at the scoreboard and realized no one was going to catch us. It was a cool feeling.”

But long before they celebrated victories on the PGA Tour, their story began far away from packed grandstands.

Austin Eckroat and Stone Coburn: From High School friends to PGA Tour Team

It’s not every day that a PGA Tour winner walks the fairways with his middle school buddy calling yardages. But that’s precisely what makes the story of Austin Eckroat and his caddie Stone Coburn so compelling. From growing up together in Oklahoma to strategizing through high-stakes finishes, their journey is one of loyalty, learning, and lasting friendship.

“We went to middle school and high school together,” Coburn said. “We were friends in middle school but not super close. Then I joined the golf team in high school, and that’s when we became really good buddies.” That bond deepened over the years, eventually landing Coburn on the bag when Eckroat received a sponsor exemption into the 2020 Mayakoba Classic, an event where Eckroat stunned the field with a T-12 finish as an amateur.

Coburn recalled that moment fondly. “He asked me to come caddie for him, and we ended up getting, like, 12th in that tournament… After that he was like, ‘Alright, if you want to come caddie for me, you got the job.'” From there, the duo never looked back, navigating missed cuts, near misses, and ultimately, breakthrough victories together.