PORT ST. LUCIE, FL – There’s an ATM joke to be made about how Bob Sowards and Ben Kern treat the PGA Winter Championships every year. When the weather in Ohio turns cold, Bob and Ben are just getting warmed up, and that proved to be true once again in 2026. As they often are, the Southern Ohio duo found themselves in the middle of it all.
Sowards got off to a slow start — at least by his standards — before capturing the third event of the PGA Tournament Series in December. He became the first senior player to win a PGA Tournament Series Event since the PGA adjusted the rules to give seniors a distance advantage.
After the holiday break, Bob picked right back up where he left off, with some help from Kern.
Kern and Sowards captured the Four-Ball Stableford Team Championship, marking their third title in the event (previous wins came in 2022 and 2024). They also teamed up to win the Senior-Junior Team Championship earlier in that week.
The Senior-Junior was an especially dominant display. Their wire-to-wire five shot victory got started in the best way possible, after the two combined for an opening round 59.
“We team so well together because we think about golf the same way,” Sowards told Craig Dolch after the round. “We have the same routine, same mannerisms, think about shots the same way.
“For me, I’m playing with the best player in the PGA,” Sowards added. “I just got to help him a little bit.”
No one has won more Winter Championship events than Sowards. Pair him with a player as sharp and steady as Kern, and the math becomes difficult for everyone else.
“As long as he’s my partner,” said Sowards. “We’re the team to beat.”
Kern came close to adding an individual title at the Stroke Play Championship.
Entering the final round four shots back, Kern surged into contention with five consecutive birdies to start his round and shot 65 to force a playoff. Ultimately, he fell on the second playoff hole.
After the round, Kern told Dolch, “To even think I was in a playoff was awesome. I’m happy I threw a number at him.”
Across multiple events, the duo of Kern and Sowards defeated more than 250 teams over the team formatted events. Add in Kern’s success at the Stroke Play Championship with Bob’s early December victory, and you’re looking at one of the most successful Winter Championships ever.