RICHMOND, KY (June 2, 2021) - The top junior golfers in the state have made their way to Richmond to battle it out on the links in the Kentucky Junior PGA Championships. The boys are at Gibson Bay Golf Course and the girls are at The University Club at Arlington. Players fought through a chilly and wet early June day to begin the tournament that led to Hayden Adams leading the Boys 15-18 Division, while Trinity Beth and Abbie Lee share the lead in the Girls 15-18 Division.

Adams takes a one-shot lead heading into the final round after firing a round of 67 (-5) to begin the championship. Adams found his groove coming down the stretch as he dropped in four birdies during his last six holes. The Sayre School standout bullied the par-fives by making birdie on each of them. 

“Today was just a steady day,” Adams described. “I focussed on staying patient and with the soft conditions I knew there was a low number out there. The weather forecast does look worse for tomorrow, so staying patient once again will be very important. Winning tomorrow would mean a lot to me because one of my goals has been to play in the Junior PGA Championship, and it would be really special to be able to do that at Kearney Hill since it’s just twenty minutes from my house. I’m excited for tomorrow and it should be a fun day.”

There is a trio tied for second place which includes Rylan Wotherspoon, Zach Watterson and Cayden Pope who all shot 68 (-4). Wotherspoon and Pope each made birdie on a third of their holes and had two bogeys. Wotherspoon plans to play his college golf at Cincinnati while Pope plans to play for Auburn. Zach Watterson did his work on the back nine as he came in with 33 (-3). Jackson Finney and Warren Thomis are next on the leaderboard at T5 after posting 69 (-3), respectively. Finney provided the highlight of the day when he canned it off the tee of the par-three 17th. It was the first hole-in-one of the year at a Golf House Kentucky sanctioned tournament and the second of Finney’s career. Thomis finished strong as he made birdie on three of his last five holes. Jack Bedell, Luke Coyle and Cooper Eberle all sit at T7 after posting rounds of 70 (-2). Bedell made five birdies and Coyle made four, in which three of them came consecutively at holes 13-15. Eberle used an eagle on the par-five 7th to boost his score into red figures. 

“I focussed on hitting as many greens as possible today,” Lee exclaimed. “Given the rain, I made sure I was hitting plenty of club with my approach shots since we weren’t getting a lot of roll out there. It’s something we practice and prepare for so I was ready for it. I don’t think anything really stood out from the round itself; I just played solid all round. On Monday I actually played at Valhalla, and knowing I would get the opportunity to compete there with a top-three finish tomorrow would be amazing. Playing a championship of that caliber where the all-time greats have competed would really mean a lot to me.”

In the Girls 15-18 Division, Trinity Beth and Abbie Lee share the lead after both fired rounds of 71 (-1). Both were steady in their rounds as neither one of them recorded anything above a bogey. Lee did her work early as she made four birdies on the front nine. Beth racked up thirteen pars along with three birdies over the course of her round.

“My approach shots were working well for me today,” Beth said. “I am really going to focus on my putting, concentrate on my game and control what I can control.”

Two shots behind the leaders is Elizabeth Eberle in third place, who shot 73 (+1). Eberle went bogey-free on her last seven holes which has allowed her to stay in striking distance. Coming in at T5 are Savannah Howell and Casey Powell. They both shot rounds of 74 (+2) which has them lurking near Lee and Beth.

Younger divisions stand as follows following the first round of play:

• Liam O’Grady holds a comfortable six-shot lead in the Boys 14 & Under Division. A fine round of 69 (-3) helped put him in the ideal situation he finds himself in. 
• In the Girls 14 & Under Division, Alexa Salamah has a commanding seven-shot lead after posting 77 (+5). 
• In the Girls 10-12 Division, Caroline Lankford holds onto a two-shot lead after shooting 44 (+8). Willa Borough is her nearest chaser.
• Conner Ford leads a compact Boys 11-12 Division leaderboard by one shot after recording 35 (-1). Ashton Gordon and Jacob Thompson are tied for second place.
• Rowdy Harris has continued his strong play after coasting to a round of 34 (-2) which gives him a four-shot lead in the Boys 10 and Under Division. 
• In the Girls 9 & Under Division, Emlie Miller leads by five after shooting 30 (+5).
• Matthew White leads the Boys 8 & Under Division after shooting 25 (E).

NOTES & STATS

• The hardest hole at Gibson Bay, using scores from each division, was the long par-five 14th. It played to a stroke-to-par average of +0.73. Only nine birdies were made on it; a bit of a rarity for a par-five.
• The easiest hole was another par-five, that being hole 2. It registered at +0.09 where twenty-nine birdies were made there.
• Over at The University Club at Arlington, the hardest hole was the last one, which played at +1.06. No players who faced it were able to make birdie on it today.
• Number 12, an up and down par-five, was the easiest hole at +0.38. One eagle and seventeen birdies were made there, with the eagle coming courtesy of Lydia Harrel.

Kentucky Junior Golf will continue to have full coverage of the Kentucky Junior PGA Championships on its Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages tomorrow. The final hole of the final group in both the Boys 15-18 and Girls 15-18 Divisions will be live-streamed on the organization’s Facebook page. Any playoffs necessary to decide those titles will also be live-streamed.

Click here to view the leaderboards from Gibson Bay

Click here to view the leaderboards from The University Club at Arlington

Click here to view second round tee times at Gibson Bay

Click here to view second round tee times at The University Club at Arlington

Click here to view the photo gallery from Gibson Bay

Click here to view the photo gallery from The University Club at Arlington