Ferris State Alum Ben Cook Sets Tourney Record In Winning Michigan PGA Professional Championship

Big Rapids, Mich. - Ferris State University men's golf alum Ben Cook set a tournament scoring record while emerging victorious in the 2020 Michigan PGA Professional Championship that wrapped up on Wednesday at the Flint Golf Club.

Cook, a teaching pro from Yankee Springs in Wayland, shot a seven-under par 65 in the final round of the 99th annual event to finish with a record 54-hole score of 20-under 196. It gave him an eight-shot victory over runner-up John Seltzer. Cook, 26, started the final round with a five-shot lead over defending champion Jeff Roth. He broke the record held by Roth and seven-time champion and fellow Ferris State alum Scott Hebert.

The low nine scorers at the end of the tournament – not including Cook, Roth and Hebert who are already qualified – earned spots in the 2021 PGA Professional National Championship next April. The low 20 finishers from the national championship then move on to play with the best players in the world at next year's PGA Championship next May.

Two years ago Cook won the tournament and first-place money at the Michigan PGA Professional Championship, but under Michigan PGA Section rules had not been working in the section long enough to be declared its champion. Lee Houtteman, who finished second in the scoring, was named champion. Cook was allowed to play in the championship because it serves as a qualifier for the national PGA Professional Championship.

This year he is officially the section champion, already qualified for the national championship, takes home the first-place money of $7,000, and has his name inscribed on the Gilbert A. Currie Trophy. Prior to the Michigan PGA Professional Championship this week, he was married last Saturday to his wife & caddie, Miah.

Earlier this month, Cook competed in the PGA Championship for the second consecutive year at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. Cook, who helped lead the Bulldogs to the 2017 NCAA Division II National Quarterfinals in his final collegiate campaign, was among 20 PGA club pros invited to this year's PGA Championship.

The Caledonia (Mich.) native claimed his invite to the PGA Championship last year at Bethpage Black in New York by placing tied for fourth at the 2019 PGA Professional Championship in South Carolina to earn his spot in one of golf's most prestigious events. Cook originally qualified for the PGA Professional Championship by finishing atop the leaderboard in the Michigan PGA Championship last summer.

As a senior at Ferris State two years ago, Cook claimed 2017 Division II PING All-America recognition. He led the Bulldogs to a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) runner-up finish and a top 10 national ranking during the regular season. The standout claimed GLIAC Player of the Year honors for the second time in his collegiate career after previously earning the distinction in 2015 when he was also chosen to the Division II PING All-America Team.

A two-time all-region choice, Cook compiled eight top-10 tournament finishes for the Bulldogs his final year, including winning the Kyle Ryman Invitational hosted by Tiffin University. He placed among the top three golfers in five events and tied for sixth overall at the league championships. The four-year letterwinner led FSU to five tournament championships and a 15th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.

Following the regular season, Cook helped lead the Bulldogs to one of their best postseasons ever. He finished seventh individually at the 2017 NCAA Division II Midwest/Central Super Regional in Nebraska by carding a 206 total over three rounds. His performance included a school-record eight-under par 64 total in the final round as the Bulldogs earned runner-up honors in the event. It also featured an ace on the part three, fifth hole at the Awarii Dunes Golf Course.

Cook's impressive final regional round helped the Bulldogs notch a 270 final round team score, which also broke the previous school record score of 274 set by the Bulldogs in their own Ferris State Invitational at Katke Golf Course in 2001. Ferris State's 836 team total (-28) for the 54 holes of the super regional also topped the 837 figure recorded in 2009 at the Saginaw Valley State Al Watrous Memorial Invite in Bay City.

Cook's 64 figure in the final round represented the best individual 18-hole score in school history, topping the previous mark of 65 set by John Hagemeier in 1997 and matched by Jim Lusk in 1998 along with Eric Lilleboe in 2009. His 206 finish for the 54 holes also was near a school-record, which Lilleboe set in 2009 at the SVSU Al Watrous Memorial Invite with a 202 total.

In his final season, Cook went on to finish tied for 15th individually with a 214 total at the NCAA Division II National Championships in Florida after shooting a 73 in the final round. He shot a 68 in round one before closing the tourney with back-to-back 73's over the final two days of stroke play.

His play helped Ferris State advance to the national quarterfinals by finishing seventh overall in the stroke play portion of the national championships in Kissimmee. FSU was the only school outside of the state of Florida or South Carolina to finish among the top seven teams in the country in stroke play. The Bulldogs fell to eventual national champion Florida Southern in the round of eight.