Paul Kenyon is a true Rhode Islander. He grew up in West Warwick and went to the University of Rhode Island. Kenyon spent his life championing sports in his native state through the click of a typewriter and a strong passion for storytelling. He started at the Pawtucket Times, where he covered high school sports. In 1977, Kenyon was hired by the Providence Journal and turned into the publication’s Swiss Army knife.

 

At that time, unbeknownst to Kenyon, it was his passion for golf that would ultimately change the landscape of how it was covered in the state. At the time of Kenyon’s move to the Providence Journal, there were two budding golf superstars: Brad Faxon and Billy Andrade, who would help put Rhode Island Golf on the map. But they needed someone to tell their stories to the masses. Insert Kenyon.

 

"Even though he was young, he seemed to know the sport and ask the right questions," said Faxon and Andrade in the Foreword of Kenyon's book, 'It's about the People, Not Just the Games.' "He was omnipresent. He showed up every week there was a tournament no matter how big or how small or how far away. Paul was more interested in our games and rounds than we did ourselves, and he instantly knew how to translate our feelings and emotions into words." 

 

His byline was always next to golf coverage. Each year, he published a golf section at the beginning of each season for the Providence Journal.

 

“If you went to any private or public golf course in the state they knew Paul Kenyon,” said Joe McDonald, a longtime colleague of Kenyon’s at the Providence Journal. “They respected the heck out of him. He was at every tournament and treated people with the same respect regardless of who they were. Every event he covered, whether it was junior golf all the way to professional golf, he did so with great enthusiasm. That’s rare.”

 

In addition, he spent more than 25 years on the Burke Fund’s interview committee. 

 

In 2014, he was recognized as the Rhode Island Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.