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Ben Kohles is as anonymous as any PGA player that has their Tour card. The 34-year-old has just one career top-ten on the PGA Tour an has been a journeyman for much of his career.
That was all set to change when Kohles came to the par 5 18th and final hole of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch in suburban Dallas with a one-shot lead.
No one had made a bogey all day at the hole. Taylor Pendrith, who was in Kohles’ group, was one shot back, but a par essentially guaranteed him a playoff, and that’s if Pendrith made a birdie!
Instead, disaster stuck. Ben Kohles made a bogey 6, while Pendrith made a birdie 4, and Pendrith won the event by a stroke.
Kohles drove his tee shot into the left rough, but hit a pretty good second shot over water to get into the green side rough. An up and down is a birdie, and even if he doesn’t get up-and-down, he should still make par.
Instead, he hit a truly terrible chip, catching it fat and dumping it in the bunker. Still, par is very much in play!
Meanwhile, Taylor Pendrith had split the fairway with his tee shot, found the green with his second, and lagged it up close for a routine birdie 4. The pressure was on Kohles.
Kohles hit a solid bunker shot and had this five-footer to send the tournament to a playoff.
Ben Kohles made his first bogey of the day on 18. It was the first bogey by the entire field in the final round on 18.
And he lost the @cjbyronnelson by 1 shot to Taylor Pendrith, who made birdie on the same hole.
Golf can be such a cruel, cruel game. pic.twitter.com/8k6GPiIFGb
— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) May 5, 2024
Oh, no. You hate to see that, truly. First place was worth $1,7 million, which would’ve more-than doubled Kohles’ career earnings on the PGA Tour. Granted, second place is just over $1 million, so he’s not exactly going home empty-handed.
But, winning a PGA Tour event comes with a ton of perks. The winner gets a two-year extension on their Tour card, an invite to the next Masters and PGA Championship, entry into all of the Tour’s signature events, as well as a trip to Hawaii for The Sentry, which kicks off the new year.
Ultimately, it’s a tragedy for Ben Kohles. But, congrats to Taylor Pendrith. It’s his first win on the PGA Tour, and he will now have all of those exemptions and perks.