LEXINGTON, KY (September 19, 2021) – Luke Coyle has established himself as one of the top young talents in Kentucky the last few years, but on Sunday he delivered perhaps his most remarkable performance to date as he ran away with the Boys Individual title of the KGCA All-State Championship at University Club of Kentucky.

Coyle, a Taylor County junior, began Sunday’s final round tied for the lead with Trey Wall of Marshall County. It took just two hours though for Coyle to turn in a vintage front nine at the Big Blue course as he shot 28 (-8) which allowed him to savor one of the most impressive victories of his career thus far. Coyle made six birdies and an eagle in that torrid stretch which put him half a dozen shots up entering the back nine. Coyle coasted into the clubhouse from there, ultimately winning with a total score of 132 (-11). That earned him a four-stroke victory over Rocco Zakutney of St. Mary. Colten Wilson of Boyle County and Clay Pendergrass of Madison Central each finished in a tie for third place with 138 (-5).

Pendergrass’ solid performance helped Madison Central win the Boys Team title in a tight race with St. Xavier. Madison Central wound up winning by two shots in this two-horse race with a final score of 573 (-3). Pendergrass, Gavin McKune, Warren Thomis, Hayden Wasch, and Cooper Eberle represented the winning squad with Pendergrass, McKune and Thomis each going under-par on Sunday to help put this competition on ice. St. Xavier was represented by Jackson Finney, Kash Albarado, Abe Williams, Wes Beard, and Charlie Denham. Despite coming up just short to Madison Central, it was a terrific performance from them, finishing nineteen shots in front of the next best team.

Click here to view full results from the Boys tournaments

In the Girls Individual tournament, a compact leaderboard at the start of the day at the Wildcat course gave way to a showdown between Trinity Beth of Marshall County and Isabella Wiley of Shelby County with each competitor totaling 144 (+1) at the end of regulation. That led to a sudden-death playoff which went three holes with Beth ultimately prevailing. Beth, who is still in middle school, is another player that has become a star in a short amount of time. This year alone, she won the Kentucky Girls Junior PGA Championship, got her first AJGA win and now has one of the top high school titles in her possession. She and Wiley were five shots up on their nearest chasers when regulation had concluded, with Claira Beth Ramsey of Madison Central and Macey Brown of Apollo finishing in a tie for third.

Marshall County also got their latest premier team victory, edging out Madison Central by two strokes in another tight team competition. 624 (+48) was the winning mark with Beth, Savannah Howell, Megan Hertter, Katie Roberts, and CeCelia Ray getting the job done for the Benton-based school. Ramsey, Elizabeth Eberle, Lydia Harrel, Abi Buchanan, and Mollie Neeley represented Madison Central and were twenty-four shots in front of third-place at tournament’s end.

Click here to view full results from the Girls tournaments

NOTES & STATS

• Dave Cowden, Eric Geldhof, Matt Logic, and Mark Price were officially inducted into the KGCA Hall of Fame on Sunday afternoon. Read the full announcement here.
• Thirteen eagles were recorded in the Boys competition with seven coming at Big Blue and six coming at Wildcat.
• Easiest holes in the Boys Championship: 9^th hole at Big Blue (-0.02) and 1^st hole at Wildcat (-0.09).
• Hardest holes in the Boys Championship: 15^th hole at Big Blue (+0.74) and 3^rd hole at Wildcat (+0.69).
• Three eagles were made in the Girls competition throughout the weekend. They came from Wiley (par-five 1^st at Wildcat), Brown (par-five 1^st at Wildcat) and Andie Baumann (par-four 9^th at Big Blue).
• Easiest holes in the Girls Championship: 3^rd hole at Big Blue (+0.44) and 15^th hole at Wildcat (+0.45).
• Hardest holes in the Girls Championship: 15^th hole at Big Blue (+1.43) and 18^th hole at Wildcat (+1.65).

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Kentucky Junior Golf and the Kentucky Golf Coaches Association extend their thanks to Adam Ronniger, PGA, Jimmy Masters, PGA and their entire team at University Club of Kentucky for their assistance in hosting this competition. Both organizations also express their appreciation towards each player, team, coach, and spectator who was present at this weekend’s competition and helped make this weekend a memorable one.

Regional high school tournaments will take place the week of September 26 in advance of the KHSAA High School Championships, which will be held at Bowling Green Country Club the week of October 4.