PGA Golf Professional Ben Kern Shines at PGA Championship With Second-Round 67

If you love a feel-good story, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better one through a day and a half at Aronimink in the 108th PGA Championship than that of Ben Kern.

Kern, PGA General Manager at Hickory Hills Golf Club in Grove City, Ohio, is one of 20 PGA Professionals in this week’s field and he’ll be around for the weekend after an outstanding round of 3-under-67 Friday in difficult conditions.

That has him at 1-over through 36 holes, and just four shots out of Hideki Matsuyama’s clubhouse lead.

Kern’s nine birdies through two rounds were more than any player in the field at the time of this post.

“Ball striking felt a little better off the tee,” said the 41-year-old Kern, who played his way into the PGA Championship thanks to a runner-up finish in the PGA Professional Championship at Bandon Dunes. “Yesterday I kind of felt like I was -- I wouldn't call it guiding it around but fighting a few things. I felt a lot more freed up today. Put the ball in the right spots, and the flat stick was hot.”

As for the most birdies to this point?

“It's wild,” Kern said. “That's wild. Pretty wild. Very cool.”

Kern navigated the back nine – his outward nine on Friday – in even par with a pair of birdies to go against two bogeys.

He caught fire at the turn with four birdies in the first five holes, most notably curling in a 21-footer on the par-4 third hole. He gave that back with a bogey on No. 4 but immediately bounced back with a birdie on No. 5, rolling in a 10-footer after a spectacular tee shot on the 184-yard par 3.

“I think any birdie around this place, I don't care what hole it is, it's nice,” said Kern. “But to go on that run, 1, 2, 3, slip up a little bit on 4, and then get right back on track on 5 allowed me to just keep cruising to finish my round.”

This week marks Kern’s third PGA Championship start. His two previous starts were at Oak Hill in 2023 (missed cut) and 2018 at Bellerive (T42).

Friday’s 67 matched his lowest round in the Championship. He also had a 67 in the second round in 2018.

“The PGA Championship in 2018 was my first ever anything on the big stage,” he said. “And the game was pretty sharp that week. Yeah, I just have been working. Been working at my club. I've been in Ohio now for four years. I'm in a great place, Hickory Hills outside of Columbus. I'm the GM there. So yeah, just section tournaments and work.”

Kern’s plan for the weekend?

“Just keep your head down and keep going,” he said.