Published: April 20, 2007 10:16 am      

By KEN SHMIDHEISER

With a 2006 championship victory behind him, Somerset native Kelvin Burgin is ready to play against the PGA masters in June.

When Kelvin Burgin was playing on the Somerset High School Golf Team before his graduation in 1991, he dreamed of competing against the nation's top PGA champions.

That day has come.

Last September, Burgin won the Tennessee PGA Section Championship during a 54-hold tournament at the demanding Bear Trace at Cumberland Mountain course in Crossville, Tenn., where is golf pro. Burgin locked down the title by scoring a birdie on the last hole of the tournament—the only birdie that hole 18 yielded during the final round.

"This was truly a test of golf," said Todd Havron of the Tennessee Golf Association at the awards ceremony following Burgin's victory.

"Course conditions at the 38th Regions Bank Tennessee PGA Section championship were extremely difficult. The wind was blowing the entire time, the greens were stimping close to 12, the rough was three inches thick and the hole locations were challenging, but host PGA professional Kelvin Burgin conquered the conditions to win the championship at one-under-par."

That key victory not carried $7,000 in prize money, but qualified Burgin for a position in the 2007 Stanford St. Jude PGA Championship to be held June 4-10 in Memphis, Tenn.

"I'm a golf pro, a person who works on the business side of this sport. Now I'm looking at being a pro golfer on the game side of the sport," Burgin explained.

One minor regret for Burgin is that he will not be playing against Tiger Woods in the Stanford St. Jude Championship. Woods will be playing in the U.S. Open a week later, and traditionally never plays the week before such a major tournament.

"But this is still the experience of a lifetime," he said.

Burgin is the son of Mrs. Jackie Burgin, of Somerset, and the late Jackie Burgin who many readers will remember as the former operator of S&T Hardware in the Tradewind Shopping Center.

"I wish my father would have life to see this. And I am dedicating the tournament to his memory," Burgin noted.

His two brothers, Donnie and Gary, still live in Somerset.

Burgin married the former Flynn Troxell, daughter of Larry and Carol Troxell, also of Somerset.

The Burgin's have two children, 7-year-old son, Jackie Alexander; and 18-month-old daughter, Malinda Leah.

Burgin graduated from Somerset High School in 1991 and from Western Kentucky University in 1995.

"I turned pro in 1996," he noted.

He landed a job a Hermitage Golf Course where he worked until becoming pro at the beautiful Bear Trace at Cumberland Mountain in 2003.

Burgin has since received accolades from many sources, including this from Tennessee State Parks Golf Director Jim Webb:

"I congratulate Kelvin on his solid, consistent play at Cumberland Mountain."

On behalf of the entire state of Tennessee, Webb wished Burgin the best during his competition in Memphis.

His family and friends in Somerset do the same.