The past couple of months have been quite a whirlwind for Ben Kern.
He has a new job as head pro at Hickory Hills Golf Club in Grove City after moving with his wife, Jessica, and 8-year-old daughter, Emma, from Austin, Texas. The Kerns are closing on a house next week.
And then there’s this little trip to upstate New York he’ll make this week. For the second time in five years, Kern has qualified for the PGA Championship.
Kern, 38, will be joined there by another local golfer, Wyatt Worthington II, a teaching pro at the Golf Depot in Gahanna. They are among 20 club professionals who made the field through a 312-player qualifier in Albuquerque, New Mexico, two weeks ago.
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Kern has played in the qualifier five times. This is the second time he has succeeded. In 2018, he even made the cut at the PGA Championship in suburban St. Louis. He finished 3-under and tied for 42ndn.d. He finished one stroke ahead of Rory McIlroy.
“Back in ’18, I thought, ‘Man, it doesn’t get any better,'” Kern said. “I enjoyed it. As a club pro, we have this opportunity to qualify for a major. It’s the top of the list for me every year, and I’m checking that box off this year, and it’s going to be special again.”
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It’s just that the timing of the PGA could be a little better for Kern. He is still not settled in as he acclimates from his move and his duties at Hickory Hills. Kern is the general manager as well as head pro. He estimates that he is spending up to 60 hours a week on the job. That leaves little time for practicing for the PGA Championship.
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“It’s one of those things where I’m excited to do it, but I also don’t have any time to do it,” he said. “We’re closing on a house literally the day I get back from New York. My job has taken off. It’s golf season. We have (club) tournaments left and right, teaching left and right.”
Kern grew up in Tucson, Arizona, and graduated from Kansas State. He aspired to make the PGA Tour, but that is a difficult grind. Kern said he was unable to advance past the mini-tour stage in five years of trying.
He eventually became a club pro in Austin. Kern learned of the opening at Hickory Hills from local pro Bob Sowards in December.
“My wife is from east Ohio,” Kern said. “She wanted to get back up north, and I love golf up here – green grass, trees everywhere.”
He said the Hickory Hills membership has been supportive of his pursuit of playing again in the PGA Championship. Most of the limited practice he’s gotten has come when members have asked him to join them for a round.
“They’re excited,” Kern said. “The club pro qualifier was televised and I got a lot of airtime on the Golf Channel. The announcers said Hickory Hills and Grove City, and it’s exciting for them, and they let me know it.”
Given his lack of preparation time, his expectations for the weekend are realistic.
“I’m going in with the same mindset I had in 2018,” Kern said. “I don’t practice, and these guys are so freaking good. The more fun I have, the better I’m going to play.
“I want to soak in every moment and enjoy who I’m playing with, enjoying having the fans out there watching me and just have fun. And if I shoot 90, who cares?”
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: New Hickory Hills club pro Ben Kern excited for the PGA Championship