Ben Kern burst onto the Tucson golf scene in 2001 when, as a Palo Verde High School senior, he won the state golf championship by five strokes. It was an indication of what was to come: Kern has made golf his life.
Now the golf pro/general manager at Hickory Hills Golf Club in Grove City, Ohio, Kern finished second in the annual PGA Professionals championships last week at Oregon's Bandon Dunes. There were 312 golfers in the field. He was paid $56,700 for finishing one stroke out of the lead, but better, earned a spot in one of golf's four majors, the PGA Championships May 14-17 at the Aronimink Golf Club near Philadelphia.
This won't be new ground for Kern, son of nine-time Tucson City Amateur champion Jeff Kern. Ben also qualified for and played in the 2018 and 2023 PGA Championships; in 2018, he finished 42nd overall, the top PGA club pro of the 20 who qualified.
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Ben Kern watches his tee shot on the 15th par 5 June 19, 2002, at The Links at Continental Ranch during the Junior World Qualifying golf tournament, finishing with a 143.
Since leaving Palo Verde in 2002, Kern has been an All-Big 12 golfer at Kansas State and a teaching pro at clubs in Texas and Ohio. He was runner-up in the 2007 Arizona Amateur.
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