[Photo: Michael Reaves]
Ben Kern was the only club pro to make the cut at the 2026 PGA Championship, an incredible accomplishment made even more amazing by the fact that he made more birdies over the first two days at Aronimink than all of the best players in the world. Not bad for a guy whose day job is being the general manager of Hickory Hills Golf Club in Ohio.
But Kern is also probably the only guy who posted four scores from Aronimink for handicap purposes. And, yes, his Handicap Index dropped as a result.
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Earlier this week, the USGA noted that Kern dutifully entered his scores into America’s GHIN system, including that second-round 67 that went down as a -6.7(!) Scoring Differential.
Ben Kern played in the @PGAChampionship, made the cut, and still remembered to post his scores to GHIN!
Respectfully… what’s stopping you? 😏 pic.twitter.com/YFQAZi04bN
— USGA (@USGA) May 20, 2026
That took Kern’s Handicap Index down (or is it up when you’re a plus-handicapper?) to +6.4, meaning he’d be giving at least six strokes to a scratch golfer in a match. And he’ll be giving more strokes to anyone the next time he tees it up in a friendly game at his club.
Perhaps the most amazing part of all? Kern’s 67 in the PGA Championship isn’t even the best Scoring Differential on his card of the past 20 rounds. In fact, he has two better scores, a -6.9 from April and a -6.8 from last August.
But something tells us he’d pick that second round at the PGA as his best round. Regardless, the dude can clearly play – especially considering the fact that he has a day job.