Ben Kohles (born February 24, 1990) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour.

Ben Kohles
Personal information
Born (1990-02-24) February 24, 1990 (age 34)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
Sporting nationality United States
Career
CollegeUniversity of Virginia
Turned professional2012
Current tour(s)PGA Tour
Former tour(s)Korn Ferry Tour
Professional wins4
Highest ranking78 (August 4, 2024)[1]
(as of November 10, 2024)
Number of wins by tour
Korn Ferry Tour4
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipT26: 2024
U.S. OpenT56: 2024
The Open ChampionshipDNP
Achievements and awards
Korn Ferry Tour
points list winner
2023
Korn Ferry Tour
Player of the Year
2023

Career

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Kohles was born in Dallas, Texas. He played college golf at the University of Virginia where he won five events and was a three-time All-American and twice was ACC Player of the Year.[2]

Kohles turned professional in July 2012 and won the first professional event he entered, the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational on the Web.com Tour. He won in a playoff over Luke Guthrie, with a birdie at the first extra hole to take victory.[3] He was invited to the tournament because of his collegiate All-American status. He became the first player to win on his Web.com Tour debut since 2007 and the thirteenth overall that have achieved the feat; he is also the first without prior professional tournament experience.[4] Kohles then won the following week at the Cox Classic, shooting a final round 62 to take the title by three shots. He became the first player in the history of the tour to win both of the first two tournaments he played. The win moved him to second on the Web.com Tour money list, which guaranteed that he would finish in the top 25 on the tour and receive a PGA Tour card for 2013.[5]

Kohles made his PGA Tour debut at the 2012 Wyndham Championship.[6] Kohles was unable to maintain his Tour privileges and was playing on the third-tier PGA Tour Latinoamérica in 2016.

Amateur wins

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Professional wins (4)

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Korn Ferry Tour wins (4)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 Jul 29, 2012 Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational 66-69-67-70=272 −12 Playoff   Luke Guthrie
2 Aug 5, 2012 Cox Classic 65-66-67-62=260 −24 3 strokes   Dawie van der Walt
3 Apr 2, 2023 Astara Chile Classic 68-66-66-67=267 −21 Playoff   Dimitrios Papadatos
4 Apr 30, 2023 HomeTown Lenders Championship 68-62-67=197* −13 Playoff   Ben Silverman

*Note: The 2023 HomeTown Lenders Championship was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.

Korn Ferry Tour playoff record (3–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2012 Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational   Luke Guthrie Won with birdie on first extra hole
2 2023 Astara Chile Classic   Dimitrios Papadatos Won with birdie on second extra hole
3 2023 HomeTown Lenders Championship   Ben Silverman Won with birdie on second extra hole

Results in major championships

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Tournament 2024
Masters Tournament
PGA Championship T26
U.S. Open T56
The Open Championship
  Did not play

"T" indicates a tie for a place

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Week 31 2024 Ending 4 Aug 2024" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  2. ^ "Virginia Cavaliers – Ben Kohles profile". Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  3. ^ "Ben Kohles wins pro debut". ESPN. Associated Press. July 29, 2012.
  4. ^ Chemycz, Joe (July 29, 2012). "Kohles wins NCHI in first professional start". Web.com Tour. Archived from the original on August 2, 2012.
  5. ^ Chemycz, Joe (August 5, 2012). "Kohles wins second event in second pro start". Web.com Tour. Archived from the original on August 6, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  6. ^ Lewis, Todd (August 17, 2012). "Morning Drive". Golf Channel. Archived from the original on August 20, 2012.
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