Tee times set for next week’s U.S. Open

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Ben Cook, who splits time teaching at Yankee Springs Golf Course in Wayland, Michigan and John’s Island Golf Club in Vero Beach, Florida, shot a final-round 74 to finish 4 over and win low club professional at the 103rd PGA Championship at Kiawah Island. He made a par putt of just over seven feet to make the cut on the number early Friday evening. “Without that, it would have – none of this would have happened,” he said. “Very, very blessed and thankful that I made that putt for sure.” Brad Marek (76, 12 over), who teaches junior golfers in Northern California, was the other club pro who made the cut. He was neck-and-neck with Cook until making an 8 on 17 on Saturday. He is 37 and was overcome with emotion as he described how much he put into playing his first PGA. “Pretty exhausted,” he said. “I’ve been here for 10 days now, so there was a lot of prep that went in with my coach and my caddie, my wife. (Tearing up.) Sorry. Just really proud.” Cook will receive a crystal bowl as low club pro to make the cut from the Team of 20 at Kiawah. At least one club professional has made the cut in five of the last six PGA Championships. Cook, 27, estimated he was followed by a crew of 20-plus friends and family, some wearing #TeamBenny T-shirts, from his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan. He played the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica in 2018 and has aspirations to make it onto the Korn Ferry Tour. “Making a cut in a major you get to skip to the second stage of Q-School in the fall,” he said. “That would be worst-case scenario. I still have Latin American PGA TOUR status. If I finish Top-10 on the Order of Merit or their points list, I’ll get to go to final stage of Q-School, get a card. Depending on how you play, you get better status.” He won a convert in Webb Simpson (72, 2 over) and his caddie Paul Tesori, with whom he was paired for the final 36 holes. He and Simpson both shot 69 in the third round. Cook birdied 17. “My caddie, we walked off the green on 17 and he said, ‘This guy, how does he lose any tournament he plays in?’” Simpson said. “‘He should be out here with us.’ Impressive.” The caddie had more kind words after the final round Sunday. “Paul was like, ‘Hey, use this as a springboard and see if you can build on that momentum that you created this week and see if you can get to the next level,’” Cook said. “Which was really nice. They are hoping to see me out here on a more regular basis, which is great.” Next up for him: U.S. Open sectional qualifying, most likely in Columbus, Ohio. “It was so cool,” he said of his week at Kiawah, which marked his third PGA Championship start but his first made cut. “Having as many people as we did at every hole, the crowds are great, a lot of cheers even if you hit a bad shot to keep the momentum going, it was really fun.”

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Here’s how the field qualified for the Masters Tournament as of 4/2/2021. Check here for updates. Abraham Ancer Daniel Berger Christiaan Bezuidenhout Patrick Cantlay Paul Casey Cameron Champ Stewart Cink Corey Conners Fred Couples Jason Day Bryson DeChambeau Harris English Tony Finau Matthew Fitzpatrick Tommy Fleetwood Dylan Frittelli Sergio Garcia Brian Gay Lanto Griffin Brian Harman Tyrrell Hatton Jim Herman Max Homa Billy Horschel Viktor Hovland Mackenzie Hughes Sungjae Im Dustin Johnson Zach Johnson Matt Jones Si Woo Kim Kevin Kisner Brooks Koepka Jason Kokrak Matt Kuchar Martin Laird Bernhard Langer Marc Leishman Joe Long (A) Shane Lowry Sandy Lyle Robert MacIntyre Hideki Matsuyama Rory McIlroy Phil Mickelson Larry Mize Francesco Molinari Collin Morikawa Sebastian Munoz Kevin Na Joaquin Niemann Jose Maria Olazabal Louis Oosthuizen Carlos Ortiz Charles Osborne (A) Ryan Palmer C.T. Pan Victor Perez Ian Poulter Jon Rahm Patrick Reed Justin Rose Xander Schauffele Scottie Scheffler Charl Schwartzel Adam Scott Webb Simpson Vijay Singh Cameron Smith Jordan Spieth Henrik Stenson Tyler Strafaci (A) Robert Streb Hudson Swafford Justin Thomas Michael Thompson Brendon Todd Jimmy Walker Matt Wallace Bubba Watson Mike Weir Lee Westwood Bernd Wiesberger Danny Willett Matthew Wolff Gary Woodland Ian Woosnam Will Zalatoris

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Looking for continuity, U.S. Ryder Cup team captain Jim Furyk named Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker as vice captains on Tuesday. Furyk previously appointed Davis Love III as a vice captain.

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