South Bloomfield’s Ben Kern, the PGA General Manager at Hickory Hills Golf Course, shot 71 in the final round at Bandon Dunes to finish at 3-under par and in solo second place in the 2026 PGA Professional Championship.
Kern made Monday’s 36-hole cut on the number at 3-over-par. His climb up the leaderboard continued Wednesday as he registered his highest career PPC finish. “I made the cut on the number, and told my caddie, Randy, ‘All right, it’s go time. We’ve got to keep getting better. I’ve kind of got nothing to lose,’” said Kern. “I played really solid in the third round and shockingly found myself in the final pairing in the final round. It was a blessing to have a chance at even getting in a playoff.”
The 41-year-old collected consecutive birdies on holes 13-14 to tie Droemer, who bogeyed the par-3 15th hole, atop the leaderboard. Droemer reclaimed the lead with Kern’s bogey at the par-4 17th. Kern missed his birdie putt at the 18th, which would have tied Droemer and forced a playoff.
Kern won $56,700 for his solo second place finish.
Kern and fellow SOPGA member Jared Jones of Scioto Country Club in Columbus, who finished T10, qualified for a spot in the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club on May 14-17. The top 20 from the PGA Professional Championship qualify for the major in Pennsylvania.
Northern Ohio PGA member Jim Troy from Strongsville and The Golf Dome made the cut and finished T62.
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