FRANKFORT, KY (August 30, 2020) – The theme of Kentucky’s State Opens in 2020 has been a clear front-runner leading from the get-go in the respective tournaments. Nishtha Madan had control of the Kentucky Women’s Open at Heritage Hill Golf Club right away and went on to win by three strokes. J.B. Williams went wire-to-wire at Triple Crown Country Club to win his second consecutive Kentucky Open. Will there be a similar story this week for the 21^st Kentucky Senior Open? Frankfort Country Club will host the state’s premier senior golf competition in the finale of the 2020 State Opens, which begins tomorrow morning and will conclude on Tuesday when 36 holes of stroke play are complete.

Last year, Steve Cox outdueled Bruce Oldendick in a playoff at Houston Oaks Golf Course in a battle of two of the Kentucky PGA Section’s top senior players. It was Cox’s first Kentucky Senior Open title and the Head Professional from Larue County Country Club headlines this year’s field in Frankfort. He begins his title defense at 10:06 a.m. EDT on Monday morning. 91 players in all are bound for the state’s capital in a large, talented pool of players looking to write their name into the history books by winning this week. Along with Cox, some of the notables competing include the following:

• Al Chrouser (7:54) – A past champion, Chrouser won this tournament ten years ago. The Lexington professional will vie for a 2020 title to join that 2010 victory.
• Rick Cain (8:06) – Two decades have passed now since Cain made history as the first Kentucky Senior Open champion. He won it again two years later in 2002 to become the first multi-time champion of the event.
• Craig RauvolaBouta (9:00) – Six years ago, RauvolaBouta won this tournament at The Club at Olde Stone. He finished T6 last year at Houston Oaks and is set to make another run for this title in Frankfort.
• Ralph Landrum (9:54) – The former winner of the Kentucky Open and Kentucky PGA Professional Championship is one of three players in a stacked 9:54 grouping. Landrum seeks his first victory in this competition.
• Steve Rogers (9:54) – The 2006 Kentucky Senior Open champion. The Bowling Green resident is one of five past champions competing this week.
• Jim Volpenhein (9:54) – Last year, Volpenhein was induced into the Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame. He’ll try to add to his famed resume this week with his first Kentucky Senior Open title.
• Scott Ray (10:30) – Ray has already won the Kentucky Senior Match Play Championship and the Kentucky Senior Team Championship this summer. A multi-time winner of the Kentucky Senior Amateur as well, the Kentucky Senior Open is one of the few trophies Ray hasn’t yet collected.
• Mark Knecht (11:18) – Knecht recently won the Kentucky Senior Amateur in what turned out to be a 27-hole competition at Danville Country Club. A win this week would give Knecht the “Senior Slam” in Kentucky by winning the two top senior events in the same year.
• Buddy Bryant (12:48) – Last year’s low amateur in the Senior Open by virtue of a third-place finish, three strokes shy of the eventual playoff at Houston Oaks. A solid summer to this point puts him on the short list of possible champions this week.
• Bruce Oldendick (1:48) – Oldendick just won his third straight Kentucky Senior PGA Professional Championship, the first of which came here at Frankfort Country Club in 2018. After coming up on the wrong side of last year’s playoff, Oldendick will look to finish one spot better this year and win his first Senior Open.
• Randy Jewell (2:00) – Jewell was a co-champion of this event in 2017. If the weather cooperates for him and the rest of the field this time unlike three years ago, he’ll shoot for his first entire capturing of the event.

Golf House Kentucky will have full coverage of the event on its Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages. A live video will be available to view on Facebook when the final group reaches its last hole on Tuesday afternoon. Another live video will become available if a playoff is needed to determine a champion. Please remember that due to COVID-19, caddies and spectators are prohibited throughout the week.

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