28^th Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Kentucky Mid-Am begins on Tuesday in Goshen.

GOSHEN, KY (October 9, 2022) – With a new date in the middle of October, one of the most prestigious competitions in Kentucky amateur golf will offer players in the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Kentucky Mid-Am the opportunity to cap their 2022 season in memorable fashion.

An elite group of Kentuckians who are at least 25 years of age will compete in the 36-hole stroke play championship at Big Spring Country Club – Harmony Landing Course on Tuesday and Wednesday. It will be the first time this championship comes to the facility where Justin Thomas learned how to play the game under his father Mike’s tutelage. Harmony Landing has hosted the AJGA tournament in Justin’s name annually since 2016 and has also hosted two editions each of the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Kentucky Amateur and Kentucky Open. The second of those State Opens occurred in 2018 and several competitors who made the cut in that championship are in this week’s field.

Those players, plus other notable names in the field include the following contestants. Each player’s first-round tee time on Tuesday is listed in parenthesis.

• Davis Boland (10:40 a.m. EDT): The champion of the 2020 Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Kentucky Mid-Am at Paxton Park Golf Course, the 51-year-old remains a prime contender to win despite being twice the age of the youngest players in the field. Boland competed in two USGA National Championships this year with appearances in the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball and the U.S. Senior Open.
• Matt Epperson (10:00 a.m.): Three years ago, Epperson won this championship at University Club of Kentucky – Big Blue with a four-shot victory. He also posted top-five finishes in the 2021 and 2020 editions of the State Mid-Am. This past summer at Indian Hills Country Club, he finished T9 in the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Kentucky Amateur.
• Austin Gutgsell (10:00 a.m.): Gutgsell is one of three players who competed in the U.S. Mid-Am last month in Wisconsin who’s also in the field this week. Gutgsell had the best finish in stroke play of the Kentucky natives while competing in the Badger State as he recorded a T18 before getting edged in the Round of 64.
• Denver Haddix (11:00 a.m.): At the start of the year, Haddix won one of the premier championships of the season by claiming the State Match Play for the fourth time in his career. The State Mid-Am has alluded Haddix to this point, but solid play from the Lexington product throughout the year has him on the short list of contenders.
• David Jasper (9:40 a.m.): On three consecutive occasions from 2013-2015, Jasper maintained ownership of this trophy with victories at Keene Trace – Champions Trace, Audubon Country Club and Lexington Country Club.
• Josh Rhodes (9:50 a.m.): One of Kentucky’s top mid-amateurs for more than a decade now, Rhodes captured the 2011 State Mid-Am title at Country Club of Owensboro and has contended nearly every year since then, including a runner-up finish in last year’s edition.
• Andy Roberts (10:50 a.m.): In the 2018 Kentucky Open at Harmony Landing, Roberts had the top score among competitors in this week’s field when he finished T21. A few months after he did that, he captured the State Mid-Am at Traditions Golf Club. That was his third instance winning this tournament with the original two coming in 2008 and 2010.
• Drake Stepter (10:10 a.m.): Stepter enters the week as the reigning champion hoping to defend his title. Last year, he won by five shots at Bellefonte Country Club with a final round score of 64 (-6) propelling him to victory. Stepter’s solid play has continued into 2022 with a T11 finish at the Kentucky Open and clinching one of the Western Kentucky Player of the Year honors.
• Taylor Thompson (10:10 a.m.): The Louisville resident qualified for the U.S. Mid-Am earlier this year at Bowling Green Country Club when he shot 67 (-5) to share runner-up honors. He carries a +5.1 handicap index into this event, the third-best of anyone in the field behind Stepter and Brett Metzger.
• Alex Turner (9:20 a.m.): Turner was the medalist in the qualifier in Bowling Green when he turned heads early in the day with a score of 28 (-8) on the course’s back nine, his opening nine of the day. That paved the way for him to punch his ticket to the national competition where he was eliminated in the Round of 64 by eventual runner-up Hugh Foley.

Click here to view all first-round tee times

Golf House Kentucky will have full coverage of the championship on its Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages. When the final group from Wednesday’s final round reaches the 18^th hole, a live-stream will be available to view on Facebook. Any playoff holes to determine the champion will also be live-streamed.

FAST FACTS

About the Kentucky Golf Association:
The Kentucky Golf Association (KGA) is one of the three organizations encompassed under Golf House Kentucky, in addition to the Kentucky Golf Foundation (KGF) and Kentucky PGA Section (KPGA). The Kentucky Golf Association represents the amateur body of Kentucky’s golfers working in assistance with the United States Golf Association (USGA). The KGA provides a wide range of services, including handicapping, USGA course and slope ratings, and tournament management software to its Member Clubs. The KGA also operates the state’s premier amateur tournaments along with USGA National Championship qualifiers. Alongside the KGF and KPGA, the KGA strives to promote the benefits and enjoyment of golf while continuing to grow the sport across the Commonwealth.

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