Ben Kern’s – At Aronimink during the PGA Championship, birdies have been scarce after 36 holes. Ben Kern, a 41-year-old PGA Class A-13 pro from Ohio with tattoos and a unique wind-focused style, stood out with a Friday run that took him from even through nine holes to a fa
Birdies have been hard to come by at Aronimink. After 36 holes, no player has produced double-digit birdies, and four golfers are tied with nine birdies each: Chris Gotterup, Aaron Rai, Alex Smally, and Ben Kern.
Kern sounded almost surprised by his own pace. “That’s wild,” Kern said, shocked himself.
The 41-year-old is a PGA Class A-13 professional who grew up in Tucson, Arizona.. He played collegiately at Kansas State. turned pro in 2007. spent a handful of years chasing his career on tour. and now works as the general manager of Hickory Hills Golf Club in Grove City. Ohio.. It’s his third PGA Championship appearance.. His prior starts were in 2023 at Oak Hill (MC) and 2018 at Bellerive (T-42).
What makes Kern’s tournament story unusual is that his game hasn’t followed the typical club-pro pattern.. He entered the stretch at 1 over through two rounds at The Mink. then improved to 2 for 3 in making the weekend at PGAs.. Even his physical presence stands out: listed at 6 feet. 1 inch. and 275 pounds. he has shaved off a big beard and wears tattoos. including a sleeve on his left arm.
His approach traces back to his early years in the desert. when he “used to just ‘hit the ball to the moon.’” At college. he felt his style needed to change. and he leaned into variety instead of straight-ahead repetition.. “I like going low, going high, left, both directions,” Kern said.. “I have fun kind of picking apart the wind and hitting golf shots.”
That mindset has matched the conditions at a blustery Aronimink.. After opening with a 74, Kern had to steady himself for Friday’s morning round.. He was even par through nine holes. with a standout moment at the 218-yard 17th hole: a 52-foot birdie over a spine.. Then he took off, rattling off four birdies in a five-hole span.
The run started on the par-4 first, when Kern wedged to a few feet and tapped in for birdie.. On the par-4 second, he thinned an 8-iron from a fairway bunker to about 9 feet, then rolled that one in.. At the par-4 third, he got a teach from Russell Henley and made a 21-footer.. Then on the par-3 fifth. Kern launched another 8-iron from 187 yards to 10 feet. setting up his sixth and final birdie of the day.
Kern tried to explain how quickly things can turn at a course like this.. “I think any birdie around this place, I don’t care what hole it is, it’s nice,” he said.. “But to go on that run. 1. 2. 3. slip up a little bit on 4 (which he bogeyed). and then get right back on track on 5 allowed me to just keep cruising to finish my round… I hung my head high yesterday. and I had a goal today and I surpassed it.”
To keep his game in rhythm. Kern tries to play with Hickory’s members at least once a week and keeps a handicap.. Right now, he’s a plus-6, he said.. He also accepted the immediate cost of his Friday performance: “It’s going to absolutely destroy my handicap. ” Kern said of Friday’s 67.. “But that’s okay.. That’s what it’s for.”
The pattern is hard to miss: birdies have stayed low after 36 holes. yet Kern’s rise on Friday—starting from even par through nine and then stacking four birdies in a five-hole stretch—helped place him among the tournament’s nine-birdie leaders. even as the broader field has not produced double-digit totals.
For now, Kern’s surprising pace keeps him in the same tight birdie conversation as four others tied with nine, even as Aronimink continues to resist the kind of scoring that usually makes headlines at majors.
Aronimink PGA Championship Ben Kern birdies Hickory Hills Golf Club Russell Henley Kansas State class A-13 PGA