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Tampa, Fla. – Ken Green first teed it up on the PGA Tour back in 1980. Five years later, he joined an elite group becoming a PGA Tour winner. Over the next four years, Green proceeded to win four more times. The highlight of his PGA Tour career came in 1988-1989 when he won twice on tour and proceeded to play in the Ryder Cup in 1989. Finishing with a record of 2-2.
Green was off and on on the PGA Tour until tragedy struck in June of 2009.
While driving his RV with his brother, girlfriend and dog, Green’s tire blew out causing him to go off the road and down a deep embankment. Ken Green lost his brother, William Green, his girlfriend, Jeann Hodgin and his dog, Nipp. Although he survived, his leg needed to be amputated. Not even a year later, his son passed away tragically in Texas.
The former PGA Tour player was not one to back down from a fight. He vowed to play competitive golf again, despite all of the tragedy in his life. In his self-published autobiography titled "Hunter of Hope: A Life Lived Inside, Outside and On the Ropes," he wrote, "My plan has been simple: Use the adversity as my purpose and reason to live."
His commitment to playing competitive golf again became a reality in April of 2010, when he finished T26 in his return at the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf, less than 10 months after the accident.
To this day, Ken Green continues to play on the PGA Tour Champions. Green made his U.S. Adaptive Open debut at the inaugural event in 2022. Although he still wants to raise the trophy, he is mainly playing for pride and continues to inspire everybody around him.
Green will be playing in the Inaugural Florida Adaptive Open this coming week. He has proven to everybody who has ever met him that there is much more to life than golf. His story continues to be inspiring and puts life into perspective.
Follow along as he tees off at 10:40 on Monday in the Florida State Golf Association’s Inaugural Florida Adaptive Open.
