Audubon Country Club in Louisville, Kentucky has been selected as the host for the 2021 Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Kentucky Amateur Championship. The 107th edition of the event will be held Tuesday - Thursday, June 14th - 17th.

2021 will mark the twelfth time that Audubon Country Club has hosted the state’s most prestigious amateur championship, the most of any club since the tournament began in 1911. The club last hosted the Kentucky Amateur in 1996, an event in which Buddy Bryant captured the title with a score of five under-par.

“Audubon Country Club has a rich history of hosting championship events and it will be a fantastic venue for the Kentucky Amateur,” said Brent Paladino, Executive Director of Golf House Kentucky. “The club has proven to be a leader in fostering and promoting the game of golf at all levels and we are truly appreciative of their support.”

Aside from the Kentucky Amateur, Audubon Country Club has previously hosted some of the state’s top amateur and professional tournaments, including three Kentucky Open’s, two Kentucky Mid-Amateur’s and the 1997 Kentucky Women’s Open.

Founded in 1908, the championship layout was designed by Thomas Bendelow, whose resume includes Algonquin Country Club, Medinah Country Club, Olympia Fields Country Club and East lake Golf Club. A comprehensive bunker redesign was recently completed by renowned architect, Lester George. The course measures 6,847 yards from the championship tees and will provide a stern test for the state’s top amateur golfers.

“The Kentucky Golf Association is excited to return to Audubon Country Club for the 2021 Kentucky Amateur Championship,” said Dave Nicholas, President of the Kentucky Golf Association. “We are grateful to the members and staff for their continued support of the KGA. We are always made to feel welcome at Audubon Country Club, and it is a wonderful championship venue that always produces a great champion.” 

Among the many champions who have been crowned on the 18th green at Audubon Country Club, perhaps none is more famous than Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame member Steve Flesch, who captured his second Kentucky Amateur title in three years in 1988. Flesch would turn professional in 1990 and go on to win four PGA Tour titles throughout his career.

Most recently, Audubon Country Club hosted the 2008 Kentucky Open, held in conjunction with the club’s 100th anniversary. Trey Bowling captured the title that year with a score of 206 (-10).

Eric Gilliland, PGA Head Golf Professional, says about the course, “Although not especially long from the championship tees, the golf course defends against scoring with a surprising amount of undulation, producing very few level lies. The small greens complexes and penal rough make going low here difficult, even for the state’s best players.”

Gilliland has been the Head PGA Professional at Audubon Country Club in 1999, and has been recognized by the Kentucky PGA with numerous special awards, including the Golf Professional of the Year in 2004, the Deacon Palmer Award in 2016 and 2017, the Bill Strausbaugh Award in 2005, 2010 and 2018, and the Horton Smith Award in 2008.

The Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Kentucky Amateur Championship is contested over 54 holes of stroke play and consists of 156 of the top amateur golfers who reside in the state of Kentucky. Players advance to the championship by virtue of a sectional qualifier, with a limited number of players earning exemptions based on prior accomplishments.

The 2019 Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Kentucky Amateur will be played June 18-20 at Country Club of Paducah in Paducah, Ky. Full coverage throughout the tournament will be available at KYGolf.org.

About the Kentucky Golf Association

The Kentucky Golf Association (KGA) is recognized by the USGA as the governing body for amateur golf in the Commonwealth. Founded in 1911, the KGA is comprised of over 180 member golf courses and conducts over 50 Championships, Qualifiers and Amateur Series Tournaments throughout the year, in addition to administering handicaps and course rating services. The KGA is a founding member of Golf House Kentucky, the organization that manages Kentucky’s Family of Golf Organizations.