Ryan was born in Grants Pass, OR in 1993 and grew up on the Washington coast in the town of Ocean Park, WA where he attended Ilwaco High School. Growing up, Ryan’s father, Jon Kukula, PGA, introduced him and his two younger brothers to the game at a very young age.
 
Ryan was part of multiple State Championship teams in high school from 2007-2011 and was very involved across the Washington Junior Golf Association and Pacific Northwest Golf Association junior golf tours. Ryan then attended Willamette University in Salem, OR where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and helped turn the Willamette Mens golf program into a top 25 program in the country, while having a Top-10 scoring average his sophomore and junior seasons.
 
After graduating, Ryan was the Assistant Golf coach at Willamette University for a season while also caddying at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. He played 16 professional events from 2017-2018 across the Dakotas Tour and Golden State Tours before returning to Oregon to pursue a PGA teaching/coaching profession. Since 2019, Ryan has won multiple Oregon PGA events and has helped coach juniors to multiple OGA junior tournament wins.

“I have been extremely fortunate to be able to give back to the game that has given me so much and I look forward to continuing to do so for years to come.”