BOWLING GREEN, KY (August 24, 2021) – “There was a time today where I thought it was going to be pretty easy to win. Then I thought there was a small possibility I could win. And then there were multiple points where I thought it was over and I had lost.”

Those words from the champion of the 70^th Kentucky PGA Professional Championship, Andrew Stephens, summarize just how much of a roller-coaster final round it was for him and his peers at Bowling Green Country Club. Ultimately, it was Stephens who stood victorious at the end of the day, claiming this title for the second time in four years after previously winning in 2018 at Kearney Hill Golf Links.

Up by four shots to start the day, Stephens was up by six shots after his 5^th hole on Tuesday when two birdies and three pars stretched his lead even more over his competitors. The lead began to shrink at that point, however, thanks in large part to a torrid run from 2013 and 2015 Section Champion Keith Ohr.

After an even-par start six holes in, Ohr then recorded birdies on the 7^th, 8^th, 12^th, 14^th, and 15^th holes to scale the leaderboard and apply pressure on Stephens. Following consecutive bogeys from Stephens on the 15^th and 16^th holes, Ohr had taken sole possession of the lead which forced Stephens to make birdie on the 18^th to tie Ohr and create a playoff.

Stephens reached the par-five 18^th green in two and was able to make birdie sending him and Ohr back to the 18^th tee for a sudden-death playoff. A par from Stephens during this go-around of the final hole proved to be enough to win, as a bogey from Ohr solidified Stephens as the Kentucky Section’s 2021 champion.

“It never felt like in the last three hours of that round that I would win,” Stephens said afterwards. “I hung in there though and it turned out to be good enough, albeit barely. Winning the Section Championship anywhere is awesome. This is such a meaningful tournament to win and I’m thrilled to have won it for a second time, especially in Bowling Green. I have a lot of family who’s not with us anymore that’s from this area and I had been channeling them throughout this tournament, so it’s super special to win at this location.”

Stephens, Ohr, Grover Justice, and Blake Watts have each qualified for the 2022 PGA Professional Championship by virtue of finishing top-four this week. They will each compete in Austin, Texas at Omni Barton Creek Resort next April with other top PGA Professionals nationwide where twenty spots in the 2022 PGA Championship will be on the line. Mitchell Moore, Daniel Iceman III and Tom Walters will be the first, second and third alternates, respectively.

NOTES & STATS

• Three eagles were made in the final round with Colby Wollitz recording the first on the par-five 5^th. Myles Mahan earned one on the par-five 14^th while Logan Watts rounded them out with one of his own on the par-five 18^th.
• Wollitz’s eagle played a role in the 5^th being Tuesday’s easiest hole with a stroke-to-par average of -0.20. Fourteen birdies were recorded here in addition to the one eagle, helping it also play as the easiest hole of the tournament when factoring in both rounds.
• For the second consecutive day, the par-four 10^th was the hardest hole at Bowling Green Country Club with a mark of +0.65. Blake Watts made the only birdie of the day on what ended up being the hardest hole of the tournament both days.
• The front nine was the easier side on Tuesday after the back nine claimed that honor on Monday. The front nine played 0.58 shots easier than the back nine during the final round.
• Tuesday’s scoring average was 77.10, a slightly harder number after Monday’s average of 76.85.

Click here to view the final results

Click here to view the tournament photo gallery

The Kentucky PGA Section extends its thanks to Daniel Soehren, PGA Head Golf Professional and his team at Bowling Green Country Club for their assistance in staging the latest edition of the Section’s premier event for its Membership. The KPGA also offers its appreciation towards each player who competed this week in addition to the local and national corporate partners contributing to this event’s continued success.

The remaining Section Championships within Kentucky will be held at South Park Country Club on Monday, September 27 with both the National Car Rental Kentucky Assistant PGA Professional Championship and Kentucky Women’s PGA Professional Championship taking place then. Registration for each event is open and can be completed by clicking on the links above.