43^rd Kentucky Boys Junior Amateur begins on Monday at University of Louisville Golf Club.

SIMPSONVILLE, KY (July 10, 2022) – The Kentucky Boys Junior Amateur has a track record of producing winners that experience success well beyond their junior golf years. Chip McDaniel (2011-2014), Cale Barr (2000, 2001), Keith Ohr (1993), and Steve Flesch (1985) are among the many past champions who can attest to that. This week at University of Louisville Golf Club, one player’s name will join that esteemed group as a winner of one of the most prestigious trophies in Kentucky Junior Golf.

A talented field will gather in Simpsonville for the 36-hole stroke play competition that starts on Monday and will conclude on Tuesday. 96 players are in the Boys 16-18 Division and eligible to claim the overall title, while 59 more players will be competing in the Boys 13-15 Division. A rich collection of AJGA stars and points towards Junior Golf Scoreboard and Global Junior Golf Rankings await the top finishers from each division.

Some of the notable names from the Boys 16-18 Division entered in the field include these players, with their Monday starting hole and tee time listed in parenthesis.

• Hayden Adams (9:40 a.m. EDT off hole 1) – The only overall past champion who’s in the field this year, with Adams two years removed from his victory at Boone’s Trace National Golf Club in 2020.
• Luke Coyle (10:00 a.m. off hole 1) – Coyle is entering this tournament with a hot hand having finished T5 in the state’s U.S. Amateur Qualifier at Nevel Meade Golf Club last week. That was with a final round 66 (-6) getting him to the finish line. He’ll look to ride that momentum into this week which would result in his first overall major title on the Kentucky PGA Junior Tour.
• Isaac Moody (8:00 a.m. off hole 1) – Moody placed third in this championship last year. He was the top finisher among all of this year’s list of participants as the only two players who finished ahead of him, Luke Muller and Matthew Troutman, are beginning their collegiate careers.
• Clay Pendergrass (8:10 a.m. off hole 10) – Pendergrass was the runner-up in the first major of the season last month at Gibson Bay Golf Course. He also had a close call at this very tournament two years ago when he finished one shot out of a playoff for the Junior Am title at Boone’s Trace National.
• Jacob Settles (9:30 a.m. off hole 1) – The winner of the 2021 Lou Perry Tour Championship is on the hunt for his second overall major title on Tour. He had a top-five finish in the AJGA NRP Bluegrass Junior at Bellefonte Country Club in June.
• Brady Smith (10:00 a.m. off hole 1) – A couple of weeks removed from getting medalist honors in the state’s U.S. Junior Amateur Qualifier, Smith is quickly rising up the ranks among Kentucky’s top young male players. He finished T4 in this event last year, just three strokes off Luke Muller’s winning score.
• Warren Thomis (10:00 a.m. off hole 1) – The third and final member of this powerhouse 10:00 group off hole 1, Thomis was the runner-up in the KHSAA State Championship last fall. He is also a past major champion on Tour having won the 2020 Kentucky Boys Junior PGA Championship.
• Zach Watterson (12:45 p.m. off hole 1) – Watterson is the only player who could win the “Grand Slam” in Boys 16-18 Division majors this year. His first major title at the Kentucky Boys Junior PGA Championship puts him in position to go two-for-two this week. He also holds a commanding lead in the division’s Player of the Year standings.

Click here to view first round tee times

Kentucky Junior Golf will have full coverage of the championship on its Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages.

FAST FACTS

About Kentucky Junior Golf:
Kentucky Junior Golf is part of the Kentucky Golf Foundation, one of three organizations that comprises Golf House Kentucky. Kentucky Junior Golf includes the state’s top tournaments and programs for the state’s golfers aged 18 or younger, featuring the Kentucky PGA Junior Tour, Youth on Course, the Youth on Course caddie program, PGA Jr. League, and Drive, Chip & Putt. Kentucky Junior Golf is dedicated to introducing Kentucky’s youth to the game of golf, providing resources to further enjoyment within the sport, and developing the skills necessary for players to thrive both on and off the golf course.

Media Contact:
Ethan Fisher, PGA | Golf House Kentucky | efisher@kygolf.org | (502) 792-9703