Bob Kosten

A native of Michigan who moved to Rhode Island to work for the Fram Corporation, he joined his friend and Wannamoisett clubmate Bobby Allen as the dominant player in the state in the 1950s. Kosten not only won the State Amateur three times, in 1952, ‘53 and ‘57, but in each of those years followed up his state triumph by capturing the New England Amateur, as well. A player known for his ability to get up-and-down from virtually anywhere, he also qualified for the U.S. Amateur six years in a row, beginning in 1951. Beyond his playing career, though, he impacted the state golf scene in other ways. A longtime RIGA official, he was president of the organization in 1977. He served for a number of years as director of the Northeast Amateur and is credited as the person who turned the Northeast from a fine regional event into one of the nation’s premier amateur tournaments. It was his recruitment of some of the top college players in the country, beginning with Ben Crenshaw that helped catapult the Northeast to prominence.