Last May, California club professional Michael Block became the proverbial golf Cinderella story, as he made the cut at the 2023 PGA Championship, the second of four major tournaments and finished 15th in the field of professional golfers. This season, 2011 Illinois State alumni Jeff Kellen will have his own opportunity to etch his name into the professional golf record books.
"To see a guy who is a head professional at a Country Club – just like myself – go and have that kind of success is really neat," said Kellen. "More than anything, it shows what is possible when you go and play well. I've played enough competitive golf that I know that if I play my very best, I can go and put together a decent finish."
Kellen is the first Redbird since 1998 to compete in a PGA Tour "Major", and just the third overall, joining Tom Sipula and D.A. Weibring. The PGA Championship begins on Thursday, May 16. The tee time for Kellen, as well as his pairing grouping will be announced early next week.
He is the head professional at Northshore Country Club, earned his opportunity to compete in the PGA Championship by virtue of finishing inside of the top-20 at the PGA Professional Championship. Last August he finished runner-up at the Illinois sectional championship at Thunder Hawk in northern Chicago. From April 28 through May 1, he competed at Fields Ranch East and West Course in Frisco, Texas, and tied for eighth, including a second-round 67 which was tied for the lowest single round by a golfer in the field. For context, last years' story protagonist – Michael Block – tied for 39th in the same tournament.
"That is our National Championship," said Kellen of the PGA Professional Championship. "It is our chance to go and compete in a big event. There is also that carrot at the end, which is a top-20 spot to qualify for the PGA Championship – a Major. I was lucky enough to go and play well enough to slide inside of that top-20 number and make a long-held dream come true."
Despite the PGA Championship being a big event, Kellen says he has no expectations for his performance at the event.
"At this stage in life, I expect to go and really enjoy myself," said Kellen. "I'm planning on soaking up every little moment. At my heart I'm a competitor, and I'm going to try and go play my best golf. I really don't know what to expect. I don't know how my game stacks up against those guys, as far as where I hope to finish, I'm not worried about any of that. I know I'm going to give it my all and prepare like crazy this week and see what happens. My focus is going to be on more of really trying to soak it all up and enjoy that time, because it is something I may never get to experience again."
The Rockford, Illinois, native graduated from ISU and had a nearly half-decade run as a professional golfer in the lower tours, including playing a handful of tournaments in the Web.com Tour (now named the Korn Ferry Tour).
"Once I got married, I realized that dream wasn't going to be my reality," said Kellen. "I fell into the business side of the game. I taught for a year out in Long Island and then moved back to Illinois in 2017 and that is when I got into the club side."
In 2017 he started working at Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Golf Club in Rockford, Illinois – where he grew up. He then spent four years at Butler National Golf Club in Oakbrook, Illinois, and in October earned his first head professional job at Northshore Country Club.
Working as a golf professional tends to be a lot more than just taking time on the golf course and teaching lessons.
"I like to describe it is that we are in a very high-end customer service role," said Kellen about the responsibilities of being a golf professional. "Part of that role is teaching the game and making sure people still enjoy the game. From there it's essentially business operations and customer service. We're making sure that our members have what they need, that when they are on property, they are having a great day. That can change day-to-day – it's what I love about being a golf professional. It is never the same day over-and-over. One day it's spending a lot of time outside, talking to people, being social. The next day it's running the merchandise operation, or maybe even helping with the locker room. It is so varied on a day-to-day basis; it is all about making sure people are having a wonderful experience."
Kellen – a three-time All-Missouri Valley honoree – has the 12th-best career scoring average in ISU men's golf history (74.5 strokes per round) and he had 10 top-10 finishes and 27 rounds with a score at or under par. Three times he finished inside of the top-10 at the MVC Championship, including a third-place finish as a senior in 2011. His strong play on the course; however, pales to what Kellen truly took from his four years at Illinois State.
"More than anything, my time at ISU prepared me for the next steps of my life," said Kellen. "It taught me how to be a great professional. It taught me how to manage my time and prepare and do all the things I needed to do to have success in whatever walk of life I was going to go down. When I think back on my college days, I think back fondly on the competitive side, but I'm also thankful for all the ways it prepared me to have success personally and professionally."
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