At one point before teeing off on Friday at Birdwood Golf Course, a photographer asked Ben Kohles to pose for a picture while holding his PGA Tour card.
Kohles, who just qualified for the PGA Tour this past summer on the Buy.com Tour, was happy to pull the card out of his wallet and flash a wide smile.
"I'm really looking forward to it, getting out there and playing with the best players in the world," Kohles said of joining the PGA Tour. "That's what we all try to do, go out there and compete. So I'm really looking forward to it."
Kohles was among more than 60 golfers to participate in the second annual Virginia Golf Alumni Tournament on Friday. The list of players also included PGA Tour veteran Steve Marino.
Marino is working his way back from a left knee injury that cost him most of the this past season. After making just six starts on the 2012 tour, Marino says he's "very, very" anxious to get back on the course.
"The knee is great, actually," Marino said. "I just went a saw my doctors last week, and they gave me the "all clear" to go ahead and start playing and practicing a lot again. So I feel really good, and I'm excited about next year."
Marino's last tour appearance was the 2012 Travelers Championship in late June, where he missed the cut.
"I've been very bored at home," he joked. "So it's been tough. But I'm ready to come back and play."
Kohles made golf history this past summer, becoming the first golfer ever to win his first two Buy.com Tour appearances. He also made his PGA Tour debut in August, getting a sponsor's exemption for the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C.
Kohles finished the season eighth on the Buy.com Tour money list, earning him his PGA Tour card.
"It's been pretty crazy," Kohles said of the past few months. "It's been quite a ride; really fun. I get to wake up and play golf everyday for a living so it's not too bad. So I'm just enjoying it."
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