Bob Sowards-Ben Kern Win PGA Four-Ball Stableford Team Championship

Bob Sowards was prophetic last week when asked if he and teammate Ben Kern were the team to beat in the PGA Four-Ball Stableford Team Championship.

“As long as he’s my partner,” Sowards said, “we’re the team to beat.”

Kern proved Sowards’ point, making eight birdies Tuesday to lead the team to a one-point victory in the PGA Winter Championship event at PGA Golf Club. Kern and Sowards made five consecutive birdies on the back nine to rally for their second team title in the last five days.

The Ohio-based PGA of America Golf Professionals scored 19 points to finish with 45, edging Josh Rackley of Wilmington, N.C., and Cooper Hrabak from Pinehurst, N.C., by a point.

“He got the putter hot on the back, and I was just trying to kind of stay out of his way and be there if he needed me,” said Sowards, the PGA Director of Instruction at Kinsale Golf and Fitness Club. “When he's making birdies, I just kind of keep the towel wet and watch the ball.”

Sowards and Kern combined for only seven points on the front nine, and were barely in the top five when they made the turn on the Wanamaker Course. But Kern rolled in a 15-footer on the 10th hole, one of five birdies he made on the back nine.

“We had a little chat on the way to the back nine that we needed to get the fire lit,” said Kern, General Manager at Hickory Hills Golf Club. “We got that lit right away at number 10, and we just snowballed that pretty much the whole back nine. It was nice to get off and running.”

It was the third Four-Ball Stableford Team Championship title for the duo, the previous coming in 2022 and 2024. Kern also won the championship twice with Benny Cook.

Sowards and Kern also won last week’s Senior-Junior Team Championship. All told, they beat 258 teams in the last week.

“It's an honor to win,” Kern said. “There’s a lot of good teams out here. You got to play good golf to win these team events. You can't go around with your B game.”

Sowards and Kern live within 30 minutes of each other in Ohio, but they usually only play together during the PGA Winter Championships. They knew when they’d like to play together again.

“Hopefully, we can partner in the PGA Cup,” Sowards said. “We first met each other in the 2019 PGA Cup, but we both still have to qualify for the team.”

Mark Brown, who along with partner Bill Van Orman played with the champions, said it’s no shock why they constantly win.

“They’re putting for birdie on every hole,” Brown said. “Ben’s putter was unbelievable today. They were going in the center every time. And when Ben didn’t make one, Bob did. They’re just hard to beat.”

Hrabak, who won a PGA Tournament Series event in December, made a 30-foot putt on the 18th hole to secure second place, just ahead of Brian Cairns (43) of Milford, Mich., and Tim Pearce of Royal Oak, Mich.

Pearce’s approach at the closing hole landed a foot from the pin. Had it gone in for an eagle, he and Cairns would have won.

The team of Brady Schnell of Lincoln, Neb., and Ryan Lenahan of New Hudson, Mich., combined for 23 points Tuesday – most of the week – to vault from 16th place to fifth. Schnell made eight birdies, including five in a row, as they combined to shoot 61.

“I felt like I was just cheerleading the first nine holes,” Lenahan said. “I kind of started to sprinkle in a few birdies on the back nine. Our only hiccup was at 17, where I actually three-putted from 18 feet. I was honestly thinking about making it and just ran it by.”

Larkin Gross of Fairfax, Va., made his first hole-in-one in competition with a 6-iron from 173 yards on the downhill sixth. He was playing alongside his wife, Paige.

“I had a perfect view,” Gross said. “It was awesome. I was trying to keep it below the wind. It hit right on the green and rolled in like a putt. I threw my club up in the air and let out a ‘Whoop.’”

The PGA Winter Championships are Presented by GolfPass and On Location. The Stroke Play Championship starts Sunday.

For more information about the 2026 PGA Winter Championships, visit the event website.