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Former Bulldog Ben Cook Finishes As Low Club Pro And Earns Nationwide Attention At PGA Championship
Posted: May 23, 2021

Former Bulldog Ben Cook Finishes As Low Club Pro And Earns Nationwide Attention At PGA Championship

Big Rapids, Mich. - Former Ferris State University men's golf standout Ben Cook garnered nationwide attention this week as he finished as the low PGA Club Professional in the 2021 PGA Championship held this week at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina.

Cook made the weekend cut and emerged as the low scorer of 20 competing club pros in one of professional golf's four major events. He was recognized as the low club pro live on CBS national television during the broadcast following the event just prior to the crowning of Phil Mickelson as the tournament's winner.

One of two Ferris State University alums in the prestigious field, Cook got off to a strong start in Sunday's final round and was in the top 20 overall before closing in a share of 44th place. He carded a four-round 2902 score at +4 for the tournament, which included Sunday's final-round score of two-over par 74.

Cook shot a even-par 72 in Thursday's opening round before notching a 77 on Friday to move into the weekend where he then shot an impressive round of 69 on Saturday.

Cook, of Yankee Springs Golf Course in Wayland, led FSU to the 2017 NCAA Division II National Quarterfinals in his final collegiate campaign and made his third consecutive appearance in the PGA Championship.

Fellow Bulldog graduate Tim Pearce, who graduated from FSU's nationally-renown Professional Golf Management (PGM) program in 2017 and currently works at the Birmingham Country Club, was also in the field for the first time and shot a first-round 79 followed by a second-round 77 score in his first appearance.

Cook, who is the director of instruction at Yankee Springs and last year's Michigan PGA Professional Champion, took third place at this year's PGA Professional Championship held in late April in Port St. Lucie, Fla., to return to the field. 

Pearce, an assistant professional at Birmingham and the 2019 Michigan PGA Assistant's Champion, finished eighth in the field to earn his first shot in golf's next major championship. The low 20 scorers overall in the national championship for PGA of American golf professionals earned berths.

This year's PGA Championship event was the 103rd playing of the tournament, which started in 1916. Regularly featuring the strongest field based on the Official World Golf Ranking, the PGA is the only all-professional major championship with 156 players competing annually for one of golf's most prized possessions, the Wanamaker Trophy.

As a senior at Ferris State, 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.