SPRINGFIELD, OH – There’s an undeniable magic around Springfield Country Club. It’s got that type of intangible, golf-specific quality which only comes from a course that gets harder the closer the ball gets to the hole. There are tough greens, there are crazy greens and then there’s Springfield, which sits comfortably in the middle of those two points, having watched four footers go forty for the better part of 127 years.
The 2025 Springfield Classic was, well, a classic SCC experience for Southern Ohio PGA Professionals. The tournament saw scores ranging from an ace to a 12 and featured a trio of twice-circled twos and more three putts than anyone would care to admit.
Ben Kern figured out SCC’s secrets, for one day at least, carding one of those hole-out eagles and securing his third win of the 2025 season. That eagle matched up well with five birdies, helping erase a pair of bogeys during his opening nine, leading to a -5 round of 67. Just good enough to win by a shot over Columbus Country Club’s Chase Wilson.
The General Manager of Hickory Hills Golf Club is off to one of the great starts in SOPGA history with wins in April, May and June so far this tournament season. The broomstick putter is red hot. He put that in the bag ahead of the Mid Ohio Golf Car Capital City Classic at York Golf Club in May. He won by two. Before that, Kern cruised through the bracket at the SOPGA Match Play Championship as the most dangerous 15-seed in the history of PGA Professional golf. Kern has gone win, win, solo third, win in the four tournaments he’s played in so far. He has a solid lead in the Section Player of the Year race as well.
A home game for David Wetterich helped him secure a tie for third, joining Sam Arnold and Ben Chandler at -2. Ricky Denny finished -1 and solo sixth. Five pros finished at even par for the day and T7. Perhaps the biggest highlight of the day came from David Hartke. His punch 9-iron on the par 3 ninth looked great from the second it left the club face. It was so good in fact, that his tee shot decided landing on the green simply wasn’t good enough – only the bottom of the cup on the fly would do. Hartke’s hoop for an ace barely clipped the edge of the hole, leaving behind a small pitch mark. It was simply that good. It’s the first hole-in-one in SOPGA competition this year.
Paul Hobart won the Senior Division with a fantastic three-under round of 69, including an eagle on the par 5 second. Hobart played the par 5s four-under for the tournament. Lloyd Faulkner and Arnold both finished T2 at two-under.