Ben Warian played in his first Professional Golf Association (PGA) event on July 25 at the 3M Open.
Warian played on a sponsor’s exemption, which according to the PGA, means the tournament sponsor allows players to play who “are not otherwise eligible for the Signature Event.”
In Warians’ first 18 holes, he shot a 69, which is good for two under par at the TPC golf course in Blaine. Through his first nine holes, Warian shot 31, which put him at five under par.
Warian said for the PGA on July 25 that having the opportunity to play in a professional event is “so special.”
Warian had “hundreds” of people supporting him. Travel was not an issue for most of them, given the course was 30 miles west of his hometown of Stillwater.
Among the crowd cheering on Warian was his seventh and eighth-grade coach Kris Oftedahl.
“I think he had the most people following him of any group out there,” Oftedahl said. “We were all there, family members from all over the place”.
Warian birdied the final hole and his supporters erupted with excitement.
“It’s been very humbling and cool to see everyone come out and support,” Warian said for the PGA. “Birdies are always nice and when they are accompanied by a couple hundred people yelling as well, it makes it that much more fun.”
Day two saw Warian shoot a 74 through 18 holes, which put him three over par on the day. His score in the second round on July 26 was not enough to push him to day three.
Although Warian did not end the tournament the way he would have liked, he never let hardship stop him from getting to where he wanted to be. It was not until his senior year with the Gophers that he made his NCAA Championship debut.
Warian’s high school coach at Hill-Murray, Steve Martin, is no stranger to his handling of a tough situation. During his junior season at Hill-Murray, Warian was the Minnesota State High School League runner-up.
He previously tied for fourteenth as a sophomore and seventh as a freshman.
“He doesn’t let it hold him back at all, just looking forward to the next shot,” Martin said.
Oftedahl echoed what Martin said about Warian.
“I remember looking at him and thinking, ‘If he grows, he’s gonna be something special,’” Oftedahl said.
Oftedahl credits Warian’s success early on to his power and his ability to zero in around the green. Warian’s abilities as a 7th-grader put him in Hill-Murray’s Varsity golf team and earned him an All-Conference nod in his first year.
“In some respects, I’m not surprised by his success,” Martin said. “He’s very motivated.”
Martin said Warian will be playing in some amateur tournaments in the fall and take a shot at going pro.
Warian is ranked 50 in the World Amateur golf rankings. The next amateur golf tournament is the United States Amateur Golf Tournament in Chaska on Aug. 12.