Meet Mr. Golf: Ben Vento
By Tom Lang
Not surprisingly, Ben Vento was on the driving range when he got the call he was voted Mr. Golf by the Michigan Interscholastic Golf Coaches Assoc. for the 2026 season.
What is surprising is that the Rochester Adams golfer is just a freshman.
No freshman has ever earned this elite golf title before.
A few freshmen have won their state championship, and they did so in the smaller divisions. Vento won the largest, the Division 1 title.
The prior youngest Mr. Golf were two sophomores: PJ Maybank from Cheboygan a few years ago – but he then began playing nationally as a junior and is now playing golf at University of Oklahoma. Andrew Walker won it three times, his sophomore through senior years at Battle Creek Lakeview over 10 years ago, before starring at Michigan State.
Vento was on that driving range in mid-June in suburban Chicago staying tuned up before winning the AJGA title there. “I dug my phone out of the bag afterwards and I found a message from my coach to call him because he had some insane news for me and I needed to call him back as soon as I can.”
New-this-year Adams’ coach Dan Cromie said Vento came into the spring season with low – or no – expectations.
“He just came into high school hoping to make varsity and then hoping to get into the lineup. Then hoped he could just contribute to the team. Then he’s winning tournaments. He’s got a humble mindset like that. So, when he’s earned all the recognition that he has, he kind of dropped his jaw. He’s not had a big head despite his immense talent as a golfer. I really love that about him.”
Vento averaged 72.7 for 18 holes this year – attributing it to a solid short game and getting the ball up and down. He recorded 39 birdies and one eagle in 14 rounds of golf. He earned four wins – at state finals, plus tournaments at The Fortress (3-under par), Indianwood Old Course (par 70) and the league tournament at Fieldstone (2-under). He took five more top 5s.
Vento agreed with his coach’s assessment about the start of the season.
“I started as the No. 5 seed at our first tournament, and thought I got lucky,” Vento told me. “I just wanted to make the varsity team, and I was just happy to be on the team. That’s all I was thinking to start the season.
“I stuck to my routines a lot, and I think that’s what allowed me to do it all,” he said about the steady improvements. “Without my (practice) routines and the little stuff I did, I don’t think it would have happened. That accumulation of playing solid golf and sticking to what I was doing, I think I managed to make the most of it.”
No one should doubt he’s made the most of it.
“I remember asking my parents at the beginning of the year, ‘is it crazy to think I could win the state championship.’ They said not really. But I said that’s my goal, and I did it – and I think it’s changing how I view myself as a golfer.
“I can get to points where I’m my own worst enemy and I’m trying to get away from that. And I think winning and seeing my name up on leaderboards and seeing my good scores go up, that’s helping the way I see myself. So, it’s just a changing of my mindset I think is helping me become a better golfer.”
Sounds like a working formula.
