Former Palo Verde golfer Ben Kern was the only club pro to make the cut at the PGA Championship.
Ben Kern, the 2001 state championship golfer from Palo Verde High School, earned $33,281 for tying for 42nd place at last week’s PGA Championship. Combined with his $42,000 for winning the Texas State Open two weeks ago, the Tucson native might’ve given consideration to leaving his job as a club pro near Austin, Texas, and giving the PGA Tour another try.
But he told reporters in St. Louis that he will remain at Georgetown Country Club and resist the temptation of going back on tour, as he did after graduating from Kansas State in 2006.
“I’ve got a 3½-year-old and a great family and I love being around them and want to be home as much as possible,” said Kern, 35, in an interview on CBS. “I love my job, teaching golf, running a golf operation, and playing in (club-pro type) tournaments.”
Kern worked his way up the club-pro ladder at several Tucson courses, including now-closed Blanchard Golf Course at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.
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Of the 20 PGA club pros who qualified, Kern was the only golfer to make last week’s cut. It was one of the top performances in the PGA by a Tucsonan in history, although Tucson High grad Phil Ferranti had a similar run in the 1977 PGA Championship at Pebble Beach.
Ferranti, who operates El Cisne restaurant in the Tucson foothills, shot 75-73-79-81 that year to finish tied for 66th. Like Kern, he was the only PGA club pro to make the cut that year. Two years earlier, 1975, Ferranti qualified for the PGA Championship at Firestone Country Club but missed the cut.
